


Welcome Back

by Southside_smurfett



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty Cooper & Toni Topaz Friendship, Betty Cooper Deserves Better, Betty Cooper Loves Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, Betty Cooper is a Good Friend, Cheryl Blossom & Betty Cooper Friendship, F/F, F/M, Pansexual Betty, Protective Jughead Jones, Slow Burn, Southside Serpent Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge is Not a Good Friend, bughead is endgame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2020-12-21 01:17:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21066371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Southside_smurfett/pseuds/Southside_smurfett
Summary: Betty Cooper was told 7 years that her boyfriend Jughead Jones had died during a serpent mission. She and him were king and queen, she loved him with all her heart. She loved him to the point that it took a year after he died she started to except the fact. She took over the serpents and they have been running better than ever before. They were impostors, thieves, ruthless, drag racers, and wild. There were whatever you wanted them to be.... for the right price and job. Betty had always never fully believed that Jughead had died. There wasn't a body just a gunshot. And blood.... lots of blood. His blood. So she keep an eye out all over the world with help of her associates. About 2 years ago he popped up and she has keep an eye on him ever since. She knows its him from his tattoos to the fact that Veronica is with him. It sucked when she found out that the guy she loved who she thought was dead is engaged to her ex best friend in secret. But she got over it with the help of Sweet Pea. They have been hooking up for about 4 years now. Nothing serious just sex, but that is how all of her relationships have been since Jughead. But what happens when Jughead comes back





	1. 7 Years Ago

TRIGGER WARNING TALK OF DEATH AND SELF HARM

PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOUR SELF

Betty's pov:

"Betty" Toni said shaking me "Betty" she said a little louder "BETTY PLEASE" she yelled tears streaming down her face. I want to respond but its like i'm frozen. "Jug.... he's..... he's de.... dead" i cried out "He promised that he would come back" i cry. I'm covered in tears and can't think straight pea came and told us about 15 minutes ago. I think, I don't know whats happening right now. I start to look around my sights not the best from my glossy eyes. I see serpents freaking out everywhere and i see Toni beside me crying but trying to calm me down from my panic attack. Sweet Pea is trying to calm the serpents down. Fangs is crying on the other side of me. Cheryl is sitting beside Toni rubbing her back and helping her calm me down. I take a deep breath and stand up making the whole bar go silent. I sniffle my tears back and walk up to the stage. I clear my voice and start to speak "Serpents" i'm able to strangle out "I know that this hard and you umm-" i sniffle back my tears and continue. "You lost your leader and i lost my king... but we have to get through it. If we don't the serpents will fall apart. To be honest with all of you i have no idea how to handle this. I can't tell you anything tonight except go home, sleep, and come back rested tomorrow so we can talk about what happened and how to deal with this. I also wanted to let you all know i have no fucking idea how were going to get through this but we will." A couple of tears started to fall down my face and Sweet Pea yelled "In unity there is strength" "In unity there is strength" the whole bar yelled. I just stood there for a minute as my tears started to fall faster while i was looking out over my family. Sweet Pea came up to me and put his hand on my shoulder "Why don't we get you home" he asked and i shook my head.

.................................

I walked into Jug and I's loft and the tears started to fall again. I stumbled a little and Sweet Pea caught me. He picked me up and walked to Jug and i's room. He put me in bed and sat beside me my head on his lap balling my eyes out. Toni and Cheryl came and sat in the middle of the bed. Fangs came and sat at the end a couple minutes later. We were all crying and telling stories of him the rest of the night once it hit about 4 am Sweets asked if i wanted them to go and i asked them all to stay. I don't know how but some how we all laid down comfortably and fell asleep. Well they did i was cuddled between Cheryl and Toni crying my eyes out. After a while i realized i had blood running down my hands and i started to cry harder. I ended up crying myself to sleep.

..................................................

I woke up the next morning to a stinging pain on my left hand. I opened my eyes and saw Cheryl holding my hand open while Sweet Pea used a cotton ball with something on it to clean my cuts. I winced a little when he added more liquid to the cotton ball. "Sorry" Sweets said pressing a little more softly. "Betty can you please tell us next time you feel like doing this" Cheryl said with a tear "Ok" i said with no emotion. The rest of the time we all were quiet and they finished my left hand and started on the right. Once Sweet Pea finished cleaning them he wrapped them up and Cheryl left. "What do i need to do to help you get through this" he asked with a tear falling down his face.

Sweet Pea POV:

She just stared at me blankly. There was no emotion on her face. It was as if she's a blank canvas ready to painted with some type of feeling. "I just want to go back to sleep" she said looking around the room "And maybe a glass of water" she asked laying back down on the bed. "OK i'll go get you one" i started walking towards the door but i turned around before i walked out "I tried my best Betty i really did i -" i broke down crying and she came over and held me. After a minute she started crying too both of us sat there for about half an hour crying in each others arms. "I don't blame you for him dying" she cried "I feel guilty though if there is anything you need ask and i'll do it, it's the least i can do after this." She shook her head "You have nothing to feel guilty for.... But if you want to help" she paused and i looked at her curiously. "Let me stay with you for a while please, i'm not quite ready to be living here by myself with his- his stuff- his stuff all over. There's so many memories and if i'm afraid that if i'm left alone i'll do worse than just dig my nails into my palms" she cried out hugging me closer. "Please Please Please don't let me" she sobbed out. I started to rub her back "I won't ok" i whispered "you'll come live me for a while ok, I'll make sure you don't do it alright "she shook her head we just sat there for a while.

................................

1 year later (6 years ago)

Betty's POV:

I woke up wrapped up in Sweet Peas arms even though i moved back into my loft he still won't let me be alone for long. He's here almost every night and he keeps and eye out for me. I softly pick up his arm and slip out of bed i quietly walk to the kitchen i put on a pot of coffee and look over the property papers. The serpents are currently in a building right outside New York but the only ones that actually live in the building are FP, Toni and Cheryl, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Gramp (Fp's dad), and me. "Hey" i hear Sweets say "Hi" i smiled "Want some coffee its almost done" i ask "That sounds amazing, Thank you." "What are you looking at" he asked coming to stand by me at the island "I think i found a property i like" i state handing him the paper. "We can fit all the serpents with a home each and there would be a pool, meeting building that would also have weapons and is where we could plan jobs, a bar, a workout building, underground garage, i was thinking maybe a strip club that was meant for empowerment and not because a sexist rule, a full outdoor workout area, and whatever else comes to mind." I rambled on a little longer than i wanted to to "It sounds amazing" he said setting the paper back down "You sure we can do it" he asked, i turned around and grabbed two mugs and started getting our coffee "Yeah we have the money and serpents who are willing to help with building so the only thing left is to start the process" i said handing him his coffee "Do it" he said taking a sip and i grinned.

................................................

1 year later (5 years ago)

I sat on my back porch with all my friends looking over our new home. "He would of loved it" Cheryl said "Yeah he would have loved how determined you are as queen" Toni chimed in she was currently sitting on Cheryl's lap on a chair. I'm sitting on a couch with Sweet Pea and Fangs is sitting in a chair. "He always talked about how he wanted the serpents in one place so i found a place for all of us" i said a tear slipping from my eye and Sweet Pea put his arm around my shoulder and rubbed my upper arm. "We got a job offer in LA" i said slowly "What" they all yelled "There is this rich stuck up guy who likes to undercut woman and he doesn't always give his employee their paychecks. He has a good amount of illegal dealings and drugs and has recently started abusing his wife and he put her in the hospital 7 times in the past 5 months. His sister is the one who got in touch she herself is also very rich but she has morals and a good company with good values and treats everyone equally" i said. "What does she do" Fangs asked sipping his beer "She is a designer that makes everything eco friendly. She is also has a big nonprofit for helping woman and children out of abusive marriages, relationships, homes, and away from abusive parents." "So why does she need our help if she has that organization" Cheryl asked "Her brother has power that he can use to hurt her and she was scared that if she tried herself and failed that Rachel her brothers wife would never be able to escape him and so she reached out because she herself is scared of him" i say. "let's do it" Toni say's "I'm in" Fangs yelled "When do we leave" Cheryl asked "What about you" i ask looking at Sweets " I'm in if your in" he said "I'll let Emma know we'll do the job Fangs look for flight's for tomorrow night" i said standing up and calling Emma.

...............................

1 year later (4 years ago) *smut warning*

We just got back from a party but it wasn't just a party it was a gala thrown by some rich people. We tend to hack into systems and get us invites to party's we have no business being at. Toni has learned how to hack amazingly she can get us in anywhere. We tend to go to these things for fun and to dress up and put on fake personas we also steal some things most of the time. Typically we will take a couple pieces of jewelry and a diamond or two sometimes were able to get into there offices and Toni gets into there computer and donates a good amount of money to charity's since a good amount of these people are not the greatest.

Sweet Pea and I are walking back to our houses from the garage the others went to the bar we decide to stay in. Things between us have been a little different between us the past couple days. Ever since we kissed he has been a little distant even though he was the one who had kissed me. "Is everything ok" i asked finally braking the silence he just nodded. "Pea why won't you talk to me" i stopped walking and so did he and he turned to look at me "I'm sorry" he said "For what" he looked at me as if it was obvious. "For kissing you" he looked down again "I shouldn't have done it i'm so-" i cut him off by lifting his head up and kissing him. We stood there for a minute just kissing and forgetting where we were and all of my focus was on him. "Your not mad" he asked sheepishly and i bit my lip "No i'm not mad" i say a smile creeping on his face. "Can we go to your place and talk" he asked "Yeah" i took his hand and we started walking towards my house.

We got inside and i grabbed him and i a beer as we sat on the couch. "What did you want to talk about" i ask taking a sip of my drink. "Have you been with anyone since Jughead or at least kissed someone other than me" he asked "Yes" he looked at me a little confused "Yes to which part" "Both" i say and his eyes widen. "How did i never find out" he asked "I have been with you almost every night" he added "This past year you haven't been around at night that much and it didn't always happen at night." "Who?" he asked "Non of the serpents some times it was relatives of them that came to visit and some times it was just people in the city" i said "Most recently it was Becca, Hogeyes niece" i continued. "You've been with a girl" he asked "Girl's" i responded "So are you like Toni and bi" "No i'm pan" i said "Pan is when you like people not gender right" he asked "Yeah" i said with a tiny laugh. "Do you like me" he asked "I'm not ready for a relationship and i honestly don't know how to be in one" i answered "So why did you kiss me a couple minutes ago" he asked taking a big swig of his beer "I liked it when you kissed me the other day." "Would you be opposed to kissing me again" he asked i shook my head "Can i kiss you" he asked "Yes" i said leaning into him. Our lips pressed together and everything else slowly went away from my thoughts. After a while i ended up on his lap straddling him at this point his jacket and tie are off and his shirt is unbuttoned my dress is unzipped and my strapless bra is out. He reaches his hand up to unclasp my bra when we stops real quick. "Can i" he asked his hand on the back of my bra "yes" i breath out leaning in to kiss him again and bra comes unhooked after he fumbled with it for a minute. His lips leave mine and his kisses start going down my neck i tilt my head to give him better access and he starts biting softly. A little moan escapes my mouth as his tongue flips my nipple and he starts moving his way across my chest to my other nipple. We eventually made our way to the bedroom and more clothing was taking off during the process i don't know how we managed the stairs but we made it up without falling.

.....................................

The next morning

I woke up to Cheryl banging on the door and yelling "Wake the fuck up" i sat up and Sweet Pea did to. I grabbed my phone and saw it was 11 am and Cheryl had called me 17 times in the past ten minutes. I showed Sweet Pea my phone and he turned it off and put his arm around my waist and pulled me back to lay down. I giggled a little "Pea we have to get up Cheryl is going to break my door down" "let her" he mumbled against my hair. He started leaving little kisses down my neck and i smiled remembering last night. We brought each other to amazing release and we didn't stop for hours. He made sure to take his time and not rush through it and it was an amazing night. "Hi" i whispered as his kisses got to right beside my mouth "Hi" he whispered back. I took his mouth in a soft slow kiss and things probably would have gone further if Cheryl hadn't started banging on the door again. "Betty open this fucking door" she yelled but it sounded louder than before. "Does she have a megaphone or something" Pea asked "Where would she get a megaphone" i wondered out loud.I grabbed my phone and text Cheryl

B: Please stop banging on my door. C: Why are you not answering your door. B: I'm trying to sleep i'll come see you later. C: OK see you later love you.

I started to sit up wanting to go take a shower "Where are you going" Pea asked "To take a shower" i said pulling a sheet around my naked body. "Wanna join" i said with a grin walking to the bathroom. He came into the bathroom a minute later and picked me up and took me into the shower. I giggled a little but the air slowly went from giggles to moans.

............................................................

1 year later (3 years ago)

"So what do you think" i ask turning to Toni. "It's amazing" she said looking around "I can't believe i'm going to be the owner of a strip club." I laughed "You deserve it" i said "I still can't believe you let me have it" she grinned. "Well you can't exactly work at a strip club, run a gang, and be the manager of the strip club" i said "But i also knew that you would be amazing at managing it" i added. "Poison" she said lifting up a cup "You put the name on the cups" she asked. "I thought it would be nice" i explained "I like the name poison" she said. "I hope so, you picked it" i laughed.

......................................................

1 year later (2 years ago)

"Are you sure" i asked Reggie. Reggie is one of my close Business associates in Europe we also went to high school together so i have known him awhile and i trust him. "I'm positive it was him" he said "I saw them with my own eyes" he continued. "Ok thank you" i said "I'll keep an eye on them" he said "Ok, thank you" i took a breath "Can you not tell anyone about this please" i asked. "Of course" he said "Thank you Reggie" "No problem Betty, bye" he said "bye". We hung up and i took a deep breath i grabbed a bottle of vodka and took a sip. He's alive. Jughead is alive. Jughead is alive and with Veronica. Veronica knows that Jughead is alive. I took another sip of vodka and tears started poring down my face. Veronica ruined our friendship then started dating Jughead. Jughead doesn't want me to know he's alive. A big sob escaped my mouth and i fell to the ground crying i took a big gulp of the vodka. The guy i love is alive. Tears are covering my cheeks and i can't stop all the sobs that are escaping my eyes. I stood up and walked into my office and went to the closet in there. I placed my bottle of vodka down carefully since i don't want it to spill. I reach my hands up and grab the box up on the top self and place it on the floor and sit down. I grab my vodka and take a big sip then take the lid off the box. My tears start streaming down my face as i go through the photos of us. We were so happy. I loved him so much. I come to the set of pictures that he took after we were crowned king and queen. It was the next morning and Jug and I had been going at it all night. Both our body's were covered in hickies. This set of photos were just of me though. I was lying in the bed at the 5 seasons and i had the sheet pulled up right above my boobs. My hands were covering my face and you could see a good amount of the hickies clearly. I remember how he laughed when i was concerned about the hickies. He said that it was a way of showing i was his. He loved to do that. Leave little hickies and bites to show i was his. We were happy in these photos and now he's off in Europe with my ex best friend pretending he's dead. I find the pictures from prom and graduation. Then i come across the photo's of us from the first night we moved into the loft. I was sitting on the counter in one of his S shirts and i grinning from ear to ear. Then there were ones from the next morning. We were laying in bed and i was laughing and he was smiling at me. I finish of my bottle of vodka and lean back against the wall and let all the tears fall.

................................

2 weeks later

It was about 3 am when my phone started to go off i quickly silenced it so it didn't wake Sweet Pea. I unwrapped myself from him and threw on his shirt and a pair of underwear and went out to the top floor balcony. I looked at my phone and saw it was Reggie who had called me so i called him back. It rang for a couple seconds then he answered "Hey" he said "Hi" i said with a yawn "Sorry did i wake you" "Yeah but it's ok" i said "whats up" i asked "so something happened tonight" he answered slowly "what" i asked "Jughead proposed to Veronica" he said and my heart stopped "So they are dating then" i ask "Yeah, they go by Jackson and Violet now" "Ok thank you Reggie" i had a couple tears fall "i'll keep you updated" he said "Ok bye" "Bye". We hung up and i stood there for a couple minutes letting the tears fall. I eventually stopped and calmed down i wiped away my tears and went back to bed.

....................................................

1 year later (1 year ago)

We're all sitting in the meeting room and i really don't want to do this but i have to. "Why did you call all of us here" Fp asked "Jughead is alive" i blurted out. "What" Toni said "Are you serious" Fangs asked "What do you mean he's alive" Cheryl asked "I heard the gunshot Malachi killed him" sweet pea sad "There was blood HIS blood" Fp said "We did a test it was his blood" Gramp said. They all started asking questions and talking over each other looking at me "SHUT UP" i yelled and they all did. "He's alive he is in Greece currently" i said "How long have you known" Fp asked "I found out a year ago" i said. "How did you find out" Toni asked "Reggie" i said "How is he" Gramp asked "He's perfectly fine" i said "He's engaged actually" i told them "To who" Fp asked "Veronica" i answered. "When is he coming back" Sweet Pea asked and i looked at him "Well i'm guessing since you know hes alive he'll be coming home" he said. "He doesn't know i know and this is not his home anymore" i said standing up and walking out of the room and back to my house.

....................................................

1 year later (now)

"I want to talk to him" i told Reggie over the phone "Ok" he said "If i send a couple guys out to get him would you help in making sure he has no idea who took him" i asked. "So you'r going to kidnap him" he said with a laugh "No i'm just going to.... Take him unwillingly" i said slowly "You gonna take veronica too" he asked "I already have Veronica figured out i just need help with Jug i don't think he'll come if i ask nicely." "How do plan on getting Veronica" he wondered "She has a trip planned to com back to New York and go see "daddy" i'll get her at the airport." "Are you sure this a good idea and you're not acting on impulse" he asked. "i have thought about this and he lied about being dead for 7 years. Do you think he would come back if i asked nicely. Because i don't. Plus i'm 26 not 16 i'm not doing this because i still love him. I'm doing it because i want answers." "Ok i'll help" he said and i grinned.


	2. Stealing Is Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty try's to get two people from her past to tell her the truth.

Narrators POV:

"What do you mean your going to steal him" Sweet Pea yelled "I mean we're going to steal them" Betty fired back "I'm not helping" he stated. "Why not" she yelled "Because it's not right" he said "Most of the shit we do is not right" Betty pointed out "There is a difference between beating up or blackmailing bad people and stealing your ex boyfriend and his fiance" Betty laughed a little "is this because it's Jughead and your jealous" she asked with the tilt of her head. He looked down at his feet and started playing with his fingers "Sweet Pea i lost any feeling for Jug when i found out he faked his death" she said softly and he looked up. "But when we started this we agreed that there was no feeling's" Sweet pea felt something in his heart churn at those words. "I know i just feel like if he comes back that these past seven years. Will be gone our friendship won't be the same and we won't be the same." "I only want to bring him back because i wan't answers and to figure out how the fuck he fell in love with veronica because she has become a monster these past five years." "Ok" he said "I agree with the Veronica thing" he said pulling her into a hug. He ran his hands through her pink hair before letting out a sigh of relief and pulled away "Thanks for telling me before you told everyone else" he said smiling down at her "I thought you might freak out so i decided i should tell you first" she said and he laughed a little "You know me to well". "Now lets eat this lunch you made" he said walking to the table "yes because the takeaway bags make it look so homemade" Betty laughed "yes they do" he said opening a bag.

................................................. 

Betty was currently getting ready to go dance when Toni and Cheryl walk in. "Hey" Betty said glancing at them through her mirror "You look hot" Toni said "Thank you" the pink haired girl said grabbing her lipstick and started to put it on as they talk "So how are you going to deal with Veronica and Jughead being engaged" Cheryl asked "Are you going to be nice to them or get upset that your "dead" ex and ex best friend are engaged" Toni asked. "Well about 5 bottles of tequila and a hell of a lot of weed helped me deal with it" Betty gave a final swipe of her lipstick and continued "They are grown adults whether they act like it or not but, That means that they can do whatever they want. If they want to be engaged they can be i have to deal with that. As long as Veronica doesn't name a number of reasons why she is better for Jughead than me i'll be ok." "That is something Veronica would do" Cheryl said picking up the pink girls boots "Can i borrow these" she asked holding them up. "I have to wear those to work tonight so no" Betty grabbed them from her and started to put them on "Hey Betty" Toni said "Yeah" "I want to learn to pole dance can you teach me" the purple haired girl asked. "I mean you don't have to but your the best out of all of the dancers here and i have been wanting to learn for a while and you seemed like a good idea but-" "Breath" Betty said cutting her off "Let me know when you want to start lessons" she told her. Toni smiled and gave her a hug "To start you can come watch me dance tonight" Betty said "Of course i could never miss you dancing in that outfit" she said looking me up and down. "Your girlfriend is sitting right there"the pink girl said pointing to Cheryl "I completely agree with Toni on this" Cheryl said "Ok out i'll see you at poison" Betty said waving them off.

Betty stood in front of the mirror and looked herself up in down. She had bought some new outfits a couple weeks ago and this in one of them. It's a black latex bra with snake going up the top of of the left side and high wasted bottoms that match. She had thigh boots with a snake that wraps around both of them. She has on red eye shadow and black lipstick with gems on her collar bone. It looks like something the pink haired girl would wear on a everyday basis just with a little more skin showing. She took a deep breath and give herself a final look and grabbed her serpent jacket of the chair. Her jacket was a little different from the rest of the serpents. Hers has a rose with a snake curled around it on the collar. Jughead's jacket had the same detail, they got the detail added when they were 17. She had gotten another embellishment added to the jacket six years ago. It was on the bottom right side and said "Juggie" with a crown on the J, the detail matched her tattoo her right above her right hip bone. The pink girl took a deep breath and looked in the mirror one more time. Tonight was a celebration. The serpents anniversary was tonight and she need to get out of her head. She started to leave her house and saw sweet pea and fangs messing around outside and smiles plastered on there faces. She smiled at the thought of being apart of such amazing people.

.........................................

The next day

"So were stealing my son" Fp asked "Only if you're ok with it, If not i'll find a different way" Betty said hoping he would agree. "I think we should do it" Gramp chimed in "Me too" Fp said. She let out a breath of relief "Thank you for letting me do this" Betty said "Your queen. You don't need our permission" Gramp said "I wouldn't do it with out you two agreeing. He is your grand kid and your son" She said pointing to Fp. "But he's your king and love of your life" Fp said making take a deep breath. "I wouldn't go as far to say he's the love of my life" the pink haired girl said shaking her head. "Bullshit" Gramp spat "You both love each other and are it for each other. You can disagree all you want but we all know it's true" he continued. Betty looked at him stunned for a minute "He's engaged to Veronica" She said quietly. "Do you think he knows what happened between you two" Fp asked "Of course not. If he did he wouldn't be engaged to her" Gramp said. A couple tears fell down her face "I don't know if you can be so sure about that. I mean he's been lying about being dead for seven fucking years. We have know i idea who he is. We don't know if he's the same or if our Jughead died seven years ago." Betty sniffled out "Well, Let's find out" Fp said and she nodded.

.....................................................

1 week later

Betty tapped her foot nervously looking around for her. Sweet Pea was sitting beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. "Calm down or you'll draw attention" he whispered. "Sorry" she said turning to look at him "I'm just nervous to see her again." "It's ok" he said gently "The last time you saw her she said some truly hurtful things it's ok to be nervous" Betty smiled at him and took a breath. "Thank you" she said "For what" he asked "Calming me." She look over and saw her and she noticed me as well. Betty looked at Sweet Pea and they got up and walked to her. "Hey V" Betty said as she pulled her into a hug. "If you follow me and don't say a word this will be easier for both of us" she whisper to her. Betty pulled back from the Hug and Veronica gulped "ok" she whispers. Veronica knew how much power Betty had and knew it would be stupid to try and fight back so she agreed. "I just have to call someone first to let them know i landed ok" Veronica said and Betty grinned. "Jughead can wait" she said confidently and Veronica gasped. "Could we get going, I don't like airports" Pea said. "Of course" Betty replied grabbing Veronica's hand "Lets go" she said walking. 

.......................................

They got back to serpent base and took Veronica to a meeting room. They sat her in a chair and she resisted a bit but with Fangs and Cheryl standing right behind her she knew she couldn't get out. Toni was by the door making sure no one came in and she didn't get out. Sweet Pea was standing beside Betty and she was leaning against the wall. "Will someone tell me why i'm here" Veronica spat and Betty grinned. "Well i have some questions for you and your fiance" she said and Veronica glared at her "I don't know what you're talking about." She said with defiance "No need to act stupid" Cheryl said and Toni chimed in "Well it is her specialty so it's not a surprise." "Ok that's enough" Betty said looking at the two "As much as i would love for this to continue, We have stuff to do." She walked to the table and placed her hands on it leaning a little forward "Why did he do it" the pink haired girl asked and veronica sighed "How do you know he's alive" she asked. "You are in no place to ask questions" Betty said a little to harshly and Sweets put his hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him and he gave her a gentle smile Betty took a breath and looked back at Veronica. "How did you know he was alive" Betty turned her question around on her "That's non of your business" she said with a glare. Betty pursed her lips and looked a Fangs "Grab her phone" she said and Veronica's eyes widen"Don't you dare" she said standing up. Sweet Pea walked over to her and Cheryl and him grab her holding her still while Fangs went through her purse and grabbed her phone. Fangs walked over to Betty and handed her the phone "thank you" she said and he walked back over to Cheryl and Sweet Pea. "Password" Betty asked looking at her and she rolled her eyes. The pink girl thought for a minute and tried a password 101817 the day he proposed . It worked and she took a breath and went to Veronica's contacts and scrolled till she found his name Jug with a purple heart. "How did you get in" She asked fighting against Sweet Pea and Cheryl "The day he engaged is not the smartest password" Betty said clicking on jugs name. Her finger lingered over the call button at some point in time Toni had walked beside her "Do it" she said. Betty looked up at Sweet Pea and he nodded she looked back at the phone and pressed the button. As soon as he picked up she muted it "Hey" his voiced flowed out of the phone and her breath hitched. "Hello" he said as if it was a question "Veronica" he sounded worried "Let me talk to him" Veronica demanded and Betty hung up. He called back immediately and she declined Betty handed the phone to Toni "Turn off any location tracker and then turn it off completely" she said walking out off the room.

Betty walked into her house and as soon as she closed the door she leaned against it and fell to the floor crying. Hearing his voice was to much for her, she had accepted the fact that he's alive and doesn't want her but hearing him brought back memories. One of the most painful memories was the night she thought he died. He had called her before he went into the Ghoulie den and he had promised to come back. The fucking liar. He had to have had a plan in place to pull this off which meant that he knew he wasn't coming back. He lied on the phone he lied earlier that morning when he turned her words of worry into sounds of pleasure and promised to come back to her no matter what. Tears were falling down her face and a sob escaped her as she thought back to more memories of the two. But why should she be crying over him though. He left her when she was all in. He decided they were over. He decided that she shouldn't know he was alive. He doesn't want her. He's alive and doesn't want her. She stood up and walked to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and took a shaky breath. She wiped the tears off her check and fixed her shirt. She calmed her breathing and went back to the meeting room.

Sweet Pea met her outside of the meeting room and pulled her into a hug. "Are you ok" he whispered "No" she said pulling away. "Do you want me to come over tonight so you're not alone" her pink hair floated as she shook her head and sighed "No you have plans. I'll be fine" she went passed him and opened the door to the meeting room to find Toni, Cheryl, and Veronica yelling at each other while Fangs was trying to calm them down. "What the hell is going on" she said causing all of them to pause and look at her "She started it" Cheryl said pointing at Veronica. "Bitch" Veronica muttered "I tried to stop it" Fangs said "Thank you" Betty said gently. Sweet Pea walked back in and came up to her "The plan is all ready i'll leave tomorrow" he said quietly so only Betty can hear him and she just nodded in response. "So how have you been" Betty asked veronica as she sat down "What do you want" she asks "Answers." She glared at Betty and before she could say something Veronica started to speak "I will answer three questions if you let me talk to Jug" Betty scoffed "No, There are not going to be negotiations." She doesn't seem pleased with Betty's answer but before she can say anything Fp and Gramp walk in. "Hows my son" Fp said coldly "He's very happy with me" Veronica said with a grin looking at Betty and she sighed. "Don't be a bitch" Gramp said waving his finger towards her and she gasped "Gramp it's fine" Betty said trying to calm him.

He was already livid from finding out that he had been alive and didn't tell anyone . When Betty told him she wanted to bring him back he was supportive but said "I will not let him hurt you again" and Betty sighed "Gramp i guess he wasn't happy he wanted out of our relationship so he found a way out, Sure it wasn't the best decision but he seems happy now." "That's bullshit" Fp said "He was extremely happy with you" he continued. "And he made one hell of a mistake leaving you behind" Gramp said.

"It is not fine" he said harshly "He left and she probably helped" he yelled. "Why don't you sit down Gramp" Cheryl said pulling a chair out for him Betty mouthed a "thank you" to her and she just waved her hand. "I have known my son is alive and engaged to you for a year and i still have no idea how he picked you over Betty" Fp said going to sit beside the pink girl.

Betty grinned knowing that she had Fp's approval and support. A big thing for Jug used to be Fp's opinion and Fp and her have had a great relationship from the begging. He never quite liked Veronica and when Betty and Veronica's friendship fell apart he made sure that Betty didn't blame myself for it. He held her when she cried over the fact that she lost her child hood friend. When she was crying because of what Veronica said to her. When she said Betty was those horrible things. 

Betty smiled looking over at him and rested her head on his shoulder and he smiled down at her. "Jughead picked me because i'm obviously the better option" Veronica spat looking Betty up and down "Now lets not lie" Fangs chimed in. "Did you blackmail him" Toni asked looking up from her laptop "Only good reason i can think of" Cheryl added. "Any tracking is off and the phone is shut down." Toni said sliding the phone towards Betty "I also erased any address that her phone registered since then airport" She said and she smiled at the purple haired woman. "Thank you" she grabbed the phone and put it in her back pocket "I better get that back i one piece" Veronica spat. "Depends on how you act" Betty said and the door opened she looked over and saw Sweet Pea talking to Chuck and Dilton "The room is ready" Sweet Pea said looking over to Betty. She give him a small smile and he returned it Betty looked over to Veronica "Were done for today Chuck and Dilton will take you to your room and they will also be right outside the door so you can't leave without my permission, The windows are monitored so don't even try and i have security everywhere you can't leave without me knowing." "Get up" Cheryl said and Veronica did they walked out of the room with Chuck and Dilton with Toni leaving right after them. That left Sweet Pea, Gramp, Fp, And me "I'm gonna head home for the night"Betty said "Are you sure you don't want me to come over" Sweet Pea asks. "I'm sure, You better get going Ember is expecting you in half and hour" she pointed to the clock and he raises his eyebrows he quickly leaves throwing out a goodbye on the way. "Ember?" Fp asked "Mustangs daughter?" Gramp asked "Yep. They have a date" she said looking down and Gramp shakes his head "I get you two have something going on but we all know you and jug are meant to be." Betty looked up at him and her eyes started to water "I haven't thought that in two years" she said "Well then you're lying to yourself" Gramp said. She felt tears slip out and Fp grabbed her hand and made both of them stand up. "I'm going to take her home, you enjoy your night dad" Fp said walking out as a couple more tears fall down her cheek "I'm gonna stay at your house tonight, i don't want you to be alone tonight, ok" he said and Betty nodded. 

......................................

Betty woke up her breathing heavy and tears running down her face. Another nightmare had taken over sleep. Fp came in and sat beside her, he pulled her into a hug and smoothed his hands over her pink hair. "It's ok" he whispered "It's all in your head" he whispered "He made me believe he died" Betty had managed to choke out through the tears. "I'm here with you, it will be ok" he was rocking her back and forth while her tears started to calm. "When did the nightmares start again" he asked after a while. Betty wiped some tears and leaned back from their hug "they started a couple days ago" she sniffled "Why didn't you tell me" she looked down and blinked some tears away. "I didn't want to seem hung up on jug, It's been seven years since he left and here i am crying" he gave her that "seriously" look. "Betty" he said softly "He made you believe he died and then five years later you found out he's been lying to you, Now you have to deal with the fact that you're going to have to face him again, It's ok to not be ok" Betty sniffled a little and gave him a wobbly smile. "Thank you" she said wiping the rest of her tears "You don't have to say thank you" he smiled softly "I don't understand how you can be so nice to me" she laughed "I don't understand it either." she lightly hit him with a pillow "You are to nice for your own good FP" she said and he shook his head "No i'm not, people just haven't treated you right" he said sadly. There was silence for a minute before FP started talking "I'm gonna head back to bed ok" Betty just shook her head in response and he left. She turned to her bedside table and grabbed the tv remote and put on a movie. The rest of the night she was crying, trying to watch a movie, or trying to sleep.

...........................................

The Next Night:

"Please be careful" Betty whispered to Sweet Pea and he hugged her tighter "I will, i always am" he promised. "Betty you need to let go of him or he'll miss his flight" Fangs said breaking the silence between them. She sighed and pulled away "Don't get hurt and stay safe" she said sternly. Sweet Pea just grinned and saluted her "Yes ma'ma" he laughed "Shut up" Betty said laughing. "OK lets go" Fangs said pulling Sweet Pea away and she waved them off. Once they left she let out a sigh and her smile began to fall. She turned all the lights off and walked up to bed the next couple of days are going to be long.

...................................................

"We got him" Reggie's voice filtered through the phone. "How did it go" Betty asked staring out over the serpent base. "Well we approached him and he looked shocked and asked what we were doing here so Sweet Pea said that he's coming with us because the boss wanted to see him. He said that we can't tell him what to do so Sweet Pea grabbed him and now where about to fly to New York." "Ok I'll see tonight" Betty said yawning "What's the time difference between us" Reggie asked "Greece and New York have a seven hour time difference" she said yawning again "Ok go to sleep i'll see later" he laughed a little "Bye Reggie" "bye" he hung up and she made her way back to bed.

............................................

Betty had just gotten the call that her team was back from Greece. They had just been let through the gate and were taking Jughead to a separate apartment from Veronica. She was pacing her kitchen waiting for Fp to come over so they could go see him together. Finally the knock on her door stopped her pacing and had her rushing to answer. "Ready to go see him" she quickly said as soon as Fp was in view and he laughed a little at her hecticness. "Calm down or you're gonna end up having a spasm when you see him" as he spoke she shot him a death glare. "I'm just not looking forward to his reaction and want to get it over with" she explained and he nodded. "I understand" he agreed "So..... are you ready to go" she asked slowly and he laughed. "Yeah lets go" he said moving back from the door so she can get out. The walk to the apartments is about five minutes from Betty's house but since she was in a hurry it took about three and Fp was tripping over himself trying to keep up. "Hi Betty and Fp" said one of the serpents that was watching the apartment Jughead was in "Hey" Fp replied. "Is he in there" Betty asked disregarding the earlier question "Yeah and he's really confused and..." he paused "And what" asked Fp "He's asking for Veronica and tried to tackle Sweet Pea after Jughead had asked how you were and Sweet Pea said he was bastard that didn't deserve to get know how you were." Betty sighed and Fp just shook his head "Alright, let us in" Betty said and the Serpent immediately grabbed keys and unlocked the door and Betty and Fp walked in. Jughead was pacing the living room when they walked in and she heard one of the serpents whisper to Sweet Pea that "The boss is here" and he turned around and smiled at her, Jughead's pacing had stopped and he turned to Fp and Betty he looked shocked then locked eyes with her "Hi" he managed to whisper out. 

A rational person would have said hi back. Betty right now was not thinking rationally she was acting on emotion so instead of saying hi she walked up to him and slapped him. "Ow" he whimpered as he rubbed his cheek "Sorry" she said sarcastically. Sweet pea let a laugh out at her words and Fp had let a chuckle out as well but she was to focused on Jughead to realize. "Did you have to slap me" he asked "No" she said shaking her head "It was just fun" she added and he sighed "You changed your look" he mentioned looking her up and down "And you came back from the dead" she stated and he ooked down at his feet, "Look Betty i'm-" "Don't you fucking dare say i'm sorry" she yelled "What the fuck are you sorry for huh, Faking your death, lying to every single fucking person who gives a damn about you, fucking veronica who by the way is a class A bitch, are you sorry for making me believe you DIED and then you get engaged to my ex-bestfriend, are you sorry for making your own fucking dad believe that you died, I don't want your fucking sorry's Jughead" she yelled. "Betty would you come talk to me for a minute" Sweet pea said walking up to her "ok" she said taking a breath and following him into the hall.

When they walked out he pulled her into a hug and they stood there for a minute, when they pulled away she cupped his cheek and rubbed the bruise that was starting to form "What happened" she asked quietly and he sighed. "Jughead punched me on the plane" he said rubbing her arm "why" she asked "He was complaining about us taking him and then he had "this sucks" so i went in a little tangent about how him faking his death and hurting you sucked and he got mad then punched me" he explained. Betty took a breath and just looked at him "We have to go back in" she whispered "Ok" he said and grabbed her hand then walked back to the door.

When they walked in Sweet pea walked with Betty over to the couch and then whispered to her "I'll come sit with you if you need it ok" she nodded her head in response and he walked away. Fp walked over and sat beside her as Jughead opted to sit in a chair across from them "Let's talk" she said "Ok, lets talk" Jughead agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I'm so sorry that this chapter took a while to get out. I got very busy and i also didn't like how i had originally wrote this chapter so i went through and rewrote the whole thing. I'm still not super happy with how it turned out but i feel as if it was good enough to post. The next part should be up in 2-3 weeks max i'm sorry about late updates but with school and the holiday season coming up i have been pre occupied with lots of stuff and haven't had time to write but i am trying to. So expect a new chapter soon!


	3. I Want Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might have a couple typos i'm sorry about that. I haven't had time to proof read this chapter quite yet but once i get a chance i will.

"What do you want to talk about" Jughead asked looking at his ex-girlfriend and his father. "Why did you do it" Fp asked painfully and Jughead felt ten times worse than he had before about leaving. "I had my reasons" He responded and Betty tilted her head at him "What reasons" The pink haired girl asked. "I don't want to talk about them right now" Jughead responded quietly and Betty glared at him "I want answers, that means that until you tell me why you left, how you faked your death, and what has happened these past seven years, I'm not going to leave until you give me answers and if you don't today i'll come back tomorrow." 

Jughead knew that he would need to talk to Betty about why he left eventually but he wasn't expecting to right now. Even though he's had seven years to prepare talking to her it still feels like he hasn't had enough time. He never wanted to hurt her but he had to, he never wanted to make her feel as if he didn't love her because he did. He loved her so much and she doesn't know. He had multiple reasons for leaving and he knew she would get mad once he told her the biggest reason, but he had to tell her.

Jughead looked between Betty and his dad before sighing and clasping his hands together "The Ghoulies had been threatening Betty and then they made a deal with Hiram Lodge. Once he got involved the threats got worse i couldn't stop them anymore, so i left. I made a deal with the Ghoulies and they helped me fake my death so i could leave." He explained "Why would they help you" Betty asked "They thought that if i left the serpents would be out of the way. It never occurred to them that you would be willing to take over. They thought that you would leave the serpents and who ever took over would run the serpents into the ground." Betty sat quietly and Fp decided to finally speak "Who did they think would take over" she spoke bitterly "I don't know" The raven haired boy answered. "Why didn't you tell me" Betty said quietly "what" Jughead replied "My life was on the fucking line and you didn't tell me" the pink haired girl raised her voice. If looks could kill Jughead would be six feet under ground from the glare Betty was giving him "I HAD TARGETS ON MY BACK AND YOU LEFT ME IN THE DARK." She yelled at him standing up "I COULD'VE FUCKING DIED" he stood up so he could be face to face with her "I wouldn't have let that happen" He replied. "When did you start lying to me" she asked the glare being replaced with a blank face "What are you talking about" Jughead was confused about her question. "You didn't tell me the ghoulies were making threats, you faked your death and lied about being dead, how about when you lied about loving me" she finished in a yell "I never lied about loving you" he stated "Then why did you leave" she spoke brokenly. The front door of the apartment burst open and Betty turned to face Hog Eye as he caught his breath and Betty's eyebrows raised at the sight of the man. "Hermione tried- she tried talking to Veronica and-" he paused to take a deep breath "And Veronica got mad and started throwing things" Betty sighed and shook her head at the words. "Ok i'll be there in a minute" She responded and Hog Eye nodded his head while he walked out the door as Betty turned to face Jughead. He had a confused look on his face "Veronica?" he questioned "Veronica has been here for about five days" the pink haired girl admitted "I sorta stole her too" she said slowly. "You're the one who decided to take me against my will" he said angrily "Who do you think gave the go?" her voice was starting to get louder. "I DON'T KNOW BUT I NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD" he yelled "You don't know me anymore" she said bitterly before turning around and walking out the door. 

Betty walked across the serpent base on her way to Veronica and also internally yelling at herself for putting Veronica on the other side of base because that means a fifteen minute walk for Betty. After a minute she realized that it was actually nice to have the quiet walk to herself before she sees the devil. Betty has seen Veronica at her worst so whatever she's going to walk into she's prepared for. The two women have had there fair share of fights from big to small it got to a point where one tiny fight turned into the end of there friendship, but Betty doesn't like to think about. She remembers a good amount of there fights but that's all she can really remember about the raven haired girl.

As Betty walked up to the house she could heard yelling and something shatter. Once she walked inside the house she observed what was happening before saying something. Veronica was angry and screaming as she threw stuff around the kitchen and Fangs was trying to calm her down. Veronica was throwing a plate but Betty grabbed her four arm before she could release it "Let me go" the raven haired girl spoke madly "I will, once you calm down." Veronica sighed and Betty grabbed the plate from her hand as she let go of Veronica's arm. "Will one of you two tell me whats going on" Betty asked calmly "When i was on my walk with fangs this morning, i heard one of the women that was painting in the garden mention that she saw Jughead and how she wish he back under better circumstances. I got a little frantic because he was here and hadn't heard from so he didn't know i was okay and i wanted to go find him and tell him i was fine, Fangs wouldn't let me and i got mad so he got me back here and i calmed down a little but then my mom showed up. I got mad at her and started yelling and throwing things, I know that i shouldn't have done it but from finding out Jughead was here to my mom then showing up was to much and i freaked out" Veronica explained. After she finished Fangs laughed and both of the women turned their head to look at him "What's so fucking funny" Veronica snapped "Well the fact that you think Betty would believe that is pretty funny" He said with a laugh. "Fangs mind telling me what Veronica forgot to mention" Betty asked with a grin on her face because of the glare veronica was giving her "It would be my pleasure" Fangs replied with a nod of his head. "Well after Hermione showed up Veronica started yelling at her and acting like a bitch for no reason and Hermione started apologizing for things she shouldn't have been apologizing for. Veronica just kept getting mad at her for no reason and i tried to calm her down then she started yelling about things and throwing things, at one point she started yelling about how you ruined Jugheads life" Betty sighed before replying "Ok Fangs, I get it" she said with a nod of her head. "Alright i have to get back to what i was doing so can you please clean this up" she said looking at Veronica before turning around and walking out the front door. 

When Betty got back to the apartment Jughead was in she heard yelling and fastened her walking as soon as she entered the apartment she saw Jughead and Sweet Pea yelling at each other. "WOULD YOU TWO STOP" she yelled and both of them froze "Bett- Betty i.... i'm um sorry i wasn't thinking and-" Sweet Pea spoke "I don't want to hear it" She spoke bitterly. "She's right you know" Fp spoke looking between the two men "You two have fought more these past couple days than you did between the time you to met to the time Jughead left" He spoke with a little laugh at the end. "Real funny dad" Jughead spoke sarcastically "Can we just get back to talking about how you faked your death" Fp asked and Betty nodded her head. "Sweets why don't you go finish working on your bike" Betty suggested "NO i'm not leaving" He spoke getting a little angry "Yes you are" she fought back "No i'm not" Betty was getting angry and had enough "LEAVE THE DAMN APARTMENT NOW" She yelled and when Betty yelled at Sweet Pea he knew that he had pushed her to far and. Now looking back on it Sweet Pea realized that with everything going on between Jughead and Veronica she was already being pushed emotionally him fighting with her was just going to harm her mentally and he didn't want that. Sweet Pea nodded and walked up to her, he gave her a hug and a kiss to her temple "I'll see you later?" he whispered so Jughead didn't hear and she silently nodded. "Alright we need to actually talk now" Betty said pointing to the couch "I agree" Fp said "So do i" Jughead agreed. 

"Okay i'll start from where we left off" Jughead said and Betty and Fp nodded "After Hiram started getting involved everything got worse and i wanted to make sure you stay safe so i didn't tell you, which i know you don't like but i had my reasons. I knew that if i told you you would want to get involved and you were safer if you didn't, I knew that you would be mad if you found out but i didn't care, I would rather you get mad and not want to talk to me than you getting involved and getting hurt. Looking back at it it wasn't the greatest decision but i thought i was doing what i thought was right at the time and i'm not going to apologize for protecting you." Betty just looked at him for a minute "What happened to us being partners and doing things together" she asked quietly "Betty they were threatening you, I didn't want you to get hurt" he responded "i'm sorry" he added. "What about Veronica, how did you two get together" Fp asked realizing that Betty wasn't paying attention anymore, She does that when she gets anxious or when she doesn't want to show her emotions. Jughead happened to notice that Betty was a little off and chose to not responded to Fp "Is she okay" he seemed genuinely concerned about her and Fp smiled a little at his concern because he realized deep down Jughead still cared. "She'll be okay" Fp reassured his son but Jughead wouldn't take his eyes off Betty, Fp sighed and put his arm around Betty's shoulders and shook her gently. She blinked her eyes a couple of times and realized that she wasn't paying any attention anymore "I'm sorry" she whispered after her realization. "You never have to apologize for when that happens, you know that" Fp said caringly and Jughead looked between the two with curiosity. When he left Betty and Fp had been close since he had been the closest thing she had to a father figure since her dad died in a car crash and Fp was very clear that he was not going to let Charles be anything more than her big brother. "It's nice to see that you two are still close" Jughead spoke softly and Fp gave him a small nod while Betty had a sweet little smile at his words. Fp cleared his throat and started talking "How did you fake your death" He asked and Betty squeezed her eyes shut at his words. "When Hiram first got involved with the Ghoulies business i realized he made them ten times stronger and after awhile the threats got worse and i started to believe them. So i went to Malachi and made a deal with him, once i told my team about the raid and everyone was on board with the plan everything was working out fine. But... Betty being Betty had her doubts and-" "And i felt off about the plan. I told you to not go through with it and to wait but you were persistent, so i didn't stop you" Betty said with regret laced through her voice. "You couldn't have stopped me Betty" Jughead responded "I know" she responded not wanting to talk about it anymore. "Can we get back to the story, what happened after you got the Ghoulies building" Fp asked wanting more answers "After the fights broke out i met up with Malachi he shot a gun, they took me out the back and to a car they had waiting then we went to the airport i got on a plane and left." Betty was holding back tears as she stood up "Can we talk more tomorrow?" She asked hopefully "Of course" he said standing up as Fp did. "I'm going to head out" Fp said giving Betty a half hug and leaving the apartment "Thank you for talking to me" Betty said and Jughead smiled at her "I'm sorry it took me so long for you to know what really happened" He responded. "I can see where you were coming from, I don't necessarily agree with why you did it. But i know you and i know that you being you saw it was the only way keeping your friends safe" he had a little hope for forgiveness from her. "I am still pissed as fuck tough" she added and any hope for forgiveness in the near future disappeared and he sighed a little "Well i should get going i will see you soon though" Betty said as she walked to the door "Bye Betty" he said as she opened the door "Bye Jughead" she spoke as she left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not as long as i wanted it to be but i was having trouble figuring out how i wanted to continue after their talk. I would like to put out there i don't have a posting schedule because i noticed that when i put myself on a schedule i stop enjoying writing. I also realized that if i do a posting schedule i will devote all my time into writing so i can get it up in time and it's not good for me or my school work if i put most of my time to writing. I do enjoy writing and i'm trying to separate my time between life,school, and writing. That is basically my way of saying i'm sorry about the wait and i'm trying to be better at posting faster.


	4. New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a look into how the serpents live their lives as well as Betty starting to put some of the pieces together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, I realized that i made a mistake in the first chapter and put that Betty was 26 but i would like to correct myself and let you all know that she is 27 and the main group of people. Sweet Pea, Toni, Cheryl, Fangs, Jughead, and Veronica are 26-27. I know that it's not that big of a deal but i just wanted to correct my mistake so i hope you all enjoy the chapter and have a great day/night.

1 Week Later:

"Stooop" Betty whined as Sweet Pea held up the pan she wanted "Nope" He said as he laughed a little. Cheryl and Toni were laughing and as they drank there wine watching the two attempting to cook together. Betty stuck her bottom lip out and Sweet Pea shook his head at her antics "If you want dinner any time soon you better give her the damn pan" Fp laughed watching the two from Betty's couch. Sweet Pea sighed dramatically and handed Betty the pan "Victory" she yelled with a grin and Sweet Pea just laughed as she went back to cooking. "I don't think you two should be able to cook for us anymore" Toni laughed as the two kept goofing around in the kitchen "I would agree but nobody here can beat Betty's cooking" Gramp chimed in. Betty and Sweet Pea kept cooking for everyone as Gramp, Fp, and Toni watched a basketball game while Cheryl and Fangs were talking to Betty and Sweet Pea.

..................

Jughead and Veronica were taking a walk around the serpent base since its a warm night and Betty told them they could go anywhere in the serpent base. She also said that she wasn't going to be a bitch and keep the two apart so she let them stay in the same apartment and let them go anywhere in serpent base. The more conversations Betty and Jughead had the more he started to realize, that all of the walls she had let down around him were very much back up and there were more. "I wish they would give me my phone my back " Veronica said snapping him out of his thoughts "Honestly i find it kind of refreshing to not be on my phone for a week." Veronica raised her eyebrows at him "I still don't get how you can go this long without it" she sighed and they kept walking while Jughead tried to stop himself from thinking about the past like he had been doing this past week.

............................

"This is amazing Betty" Fp said pointing to the food on his plate and Betty grinned at him "Thank you" she responded and Sweet Pea fake coughed and they all looked at him. "I helped too" He whined and Betty laughed at him "What, you always get all the complements for the cooking and no one ever appreciates my help." "Awww you poor baby" Toni mocked and Fangs let out a laugh "Well if you wanted compliments cook next time" Cheryl chipped in and he glared at him. "Okay" Betty said which made them calm there laughing and Pea turned his head and looked at her "Thank you for distracting me while i was cooking" She said smiling at him and you could tell he was trying hard not to grin but failed as one appeared on his face.

.................................

Jughead and Veronica were still on there walk but had heard laughter and decided to see what was going on so they followed the sound. Once Jughead saw where the laughter was coming from made his heart hurt a little. All of his old friends and family were having a great time and hanging out together. He briefly wondered if he hadn't have left would he be joking and laughing with all of his friends and family. "Well looks like they are having a good time" Veronica said bitterly "Yeah" He agreed. "It's rude that they didn't invite us" She said angrily "Well it's not like all of us our on the best of terms so it's not that surprising that they are hanging out without us" he reasoned. Veronica rolled her eyes and then tilted her head "Is there something going on between Betty and Sweet pea" She asked and Jughead turned his head to look back through the window and saw that Cheryl, Toni, and Fangs were cleaning up the kitchen table while Fp and Gramp were sitting on a couch together. On a separate couch Betty had her legs across Sweet Peas lap and she was grinning at him while Gramp and Fp were laughing on the other couch and Sweet Pea dipped his head and gave Betty a light kiss on the lips. Jughead decided he didn't want to see anymore and that he wasn't supposed to see what he did in the first place "I'm going back to the apartment" He announced and Veronica shook her head "What about our walk" She asked "You can keep walking but i want to go home" He responded turning around. Veronica followed and they walked back silently which he was grateful for since it gave him time to think.

"Did you want to go to the serpents own personal night club tonight" Veronica asked as they got back into the apartment "Apparently they have a little party the last Saturday of every month" She added. "You want to go to a party?" Jughead raised his eyebrows "Well it seems like they always have a good time and maybe you can see some old friends" she spoke hopefully "Okay, I'll go" he said and Veronica smiled and clasped her hands together "Goody i'll go get ready" She said jumping off towards the bedroom and Jughead shook his 'What did i get myself into' He thought.

.............................

Betty and Sweet Pea were laughing and talking on her balcony after everyone had left her house. Right now they were talking about high school and Sweet Pea brought up the first time that Betty had shown up in her serpent jacket and had everyone staring at her "They were not" Betty protested. "Oh they definitely were" he laughed and Betty shook her head at him but the smile was evident on her face and his laughs died down as his phone rang. Betty smiled and took a sip of her wine as he answered his phone "Hey Ember" she heard him say and she raised her eyes to look at him. She saw that his smile had turned to a grin and he was playing with his hair as he spoke again"Yeah, I'll be right there" he smiled and Betty sighed as he hung up. "You goin got Ember's" Betty asked taking a sip of her wine "Yeah, Is that okay" he asked and she raised her eyebrows "You don't have to ask for my permission Sweet Pea" she said and he stood up "Okay I'll see you later" He said as he hurriedly walk back into her house and down the stairs. Betty sighed when she heard the front door shut and she grabbed the remote for the TV and flipped through Netflix till she found something she wanted to watch and she finished her wine while she watched her movie.

.............................

"You look amazing" Betty turned around quickly at the voice and once she saw who it was she squinted her eyes at him. "Aren't you supposed to be with Ember" She asked a little bitterly recalling what happened earlier "I'm sorry" he said softly. She just turned around and started to put on her boots but Sweet Pea grabbed her hand half way through lacing up the first boot "I shouldn't have run out on you like that, i'm sorry" he spoke quietly and she turned her head up to face him. She looked at him for a minute before responding "Look i get you have something going on with her and you like her, but i would appreciate it if you didn't run out on me while we were supposed to be hanging out so you can go fuck her." Sweet pea nodded and she turned back to her boot and finished lacing both of them up and stood up grabbing his hand and pulling him up to stand with her. "Ready" She asked "Yep" he responded and they were on there way to the club. "Do you think Jughead and Veronica will be at the party tonight" Sweet Pea asked and Betty shrugged her shoulders "I have no idea."

.............................

As Jughead and Veronica walked into the serpents night club the music was blaring and the people were laughing, drinking, and dancing. The sight of serpents having fun and living there lives like this made Jughead smile at what Betty has done with the serpents since he left. He took a glance a Veronica who had already made her way to the bar and he decided he would let her be and would check up on her later. He went to walk around when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to find Ember standing behind him "Hey Jug" she said with a bright smile and he gave her a small smile back. Truth is he never really liked Ember but he was always polite to her and would have a occasional conversation but never anything to important. "Hey Ember" He replied politely "Have you seen Sweet Pea" She asked looking around the bar eagerly and he soon realized she was only talking to him to find Sweet Pea. "No, I just got here" He answered and she sighed an "Okay" and then walked away and quickly glanced at her eagerly looking for the man in question. 

Betty and Sweet Pea met up with Cheryl and Toni on there way to the club and the 4 of them laughed the whole way there. As soon as they walked in they headed for the right corner of the club and went into the roped off section which was only allowed to be used by Betty and her close friends. Fangs was already there when the four of them arrived and he pulled Betty aside as soon as they walked in. "What's up" She asked once they got far enough from the rest of them so they couldn't hear "Jug is here" he spoke and Betty sighed before responding "Where is he" she asked. "He's sitting over in the corner and Veronica is at the bar" he said pointing at the two different locations and her eyes stayed planted on Jughead for a minute. She glanced back at Sweet Pea and saw that Ember had joined him "Don't let him know that Jug is here or where i'm going" She said and Fangs nodded "Okay" he said as she walked away.

"Jughead Jones is at a party" Betty spoke as she walked up to his table. He glanced up at her and raised his eyebrows "We're on speaking terms now" He asked and Betty shrugged "I just want to talk about something real quick" she said as she sat down in front of him and he nodded. "Jellybean gets in town tomorrow and she will be staying here for a week and she would like to have dinner with you tomorrow, Is that okay" she asked and he smiled "yeah i'll meet her for dinner tomorrow." "Okay, I'll let her know and have Fangs come tell you the details" she said standing up "Okay?" she asked "Okay" he agreed and she walked away. 

"Where have you been" Cheryl asked as soon as Betty walked got back to her group of friends "I was talking to Jughead about dinner with Jelly tomorrow" She said grabbing the drink that Cheryl was handing her. She and Cheryl talked for a little while before Toni joined their conversation and the three of them talked and drank until Cheryl was able to convince the two of them to karaoke. The rest of the night was them dancing, singing, laughing, and drinking until they all eventually left to go home which left Betty alone so she finished her drink and left. 

Once Betty got inside her house she sighed and took her shoes off and went to grab a glass of water observing how quiet it was. She went up to her room and changed into a pair sweats and a oversized sweatshirt and crawled into bed put a movie on and thought about how things could have been if Jughead wouldn't have left. She started to wondering how he and Veronica got together and decided that she needed to ask him about that. She realized that if what Veronica and Jughead started dating after her and Betty's falling out then that would have been when hey were 24. Betty remembered that Hiram lodge started a secret project about a month after the two girls falling out and the same project has been getting $10,000 every month since and all the fund were going to Europe. She got up and sat at her desk and opened her computer and went to the file she had for Hiram. She had folders dating back to when she was still a baby and all the folders had his business and the only reason she has them is because the serpents like to keep an eye on their possible competition. She scrolled through down to August of 2015 and found all of the evidence and called Reggie "Hey" she spoke when he answered "Whats up Coop" he said and Betty rolled her eyes at the nick name "I was wondering if i sent you some files would be able to trace what the money is being used for" She hopefully "Possibly, Send them over and i'll take a look" he responded and she smiled "Okay thank you so so so much, I love you and will send them over" She said already working on sending the over. "Okay bye Betts love you" he said with a little laugh at her eagerness "Love you bye" she said hanging up and finished sending the files. "Okay, this may help figure out how Veronica and Jughead got together sparing me that awkward conversation, Or this could be a complete bust" she spoke quietly to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i wanted to let you all know that the next chapter will be a good amount of flashbacks that will show the main characters in high school and give a little more details about Betty and Jughead's relationship. It will also have the details of what happened to Betty and Veronica's friendship.  
On a side note i would like to mention that i will get better at responding to comments i have just been busy lately and didn't think to check if i had any but i promise i will get better at responding so have a good day/night everyone.


	5. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Fp take a trip down memory lane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying a different layout for the text if you have any thoughts/opinions on the layout let me know!

Betty was pacing her office staring at the two boxes sitting on her desk and she's now regretting agreeing to go though old photos with Fp.

She went to open one of the boxes when she heard the front door open and decides to wait till Fp gets upstairs to finish opening them.

"Hey" she heard Fp speak as he walked in the room "Hey" she responded as she turned to face him and he smiled gently at her. "Are these all of them" he asked pointing to the boxes on her desk "Yeah" she said turning to look at the boxes on her desk with a sigh "Ready?" she asked and he nodded.

"Ok then" she said opening one of the boxes on her desk and placing it on the floor as she sat down on the rug and patted the floor for Fp to join her on the floor. He pulled out a stack of photos as he sat down and went through a couple before stopping and holding it up for her to see.

"What's the story behind this one" he asked and she smiled at the photo. "That is from when jug and i went on our first date" she said grabbing it out of her hand "So you two where 16?" he questioned "Yeah" she said looking back at the picture.

.................................

11 years ago:

Betty and Jughead were walking through the Brooklyn botanical garden with hands linked, and an overlying feeling of shyness.

Betty kept glancing up at Jughead and he was trying to enjoy the night but had been nervous and Betty noticed this a while ago and thought it was cute. She suddenly stopped with a smile and Jughead glanced at her with his eyebrows raised "Is everything okay?" he questioned nervously.

She gently laughed at him before responding "We have known each other since we were four and you're acting like if you mess up i'll lose any interest in you." He sighed and looked down at his feet "I'm nervous" he admitted quietly "I know" she giggled and small smile appeared on his face "It's not funny" he whined and she walked closer gently wrapping her arms around his neck and looking up at him.

"I really like you Jug" she said quietly "I really like you too Betts" he said giving her a gentle kiss." As their kiss deepened a tiny bit they heard a camera and immediately turned to the direction of the sound and saw Fangs smiling and Toni grinning with her camera in her hand. 

.............................

Present:

"So Toni and Fangs followed you two on your first date" Fp laughed "Yep" she responded placing the photo down smiling at the memory. "Ahhh, you five were so small" Fp cooed looking at a photo in his hand and Betty grabbed it from him and laughed at the photo. "What?" Fp questioned "Well..."

.................................

21 years ago:

Betty, Jughead, Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea are 6

Toni had decided that she wanted to invite everyone over to play with her new legos and since all her friends had loved playing with legos they were all more than willing to come over and play. 

They were sitting in a circle in her living room waiting as Toni's mom opened the box for them and as soon as she poured the little plastic blocks in front of them they all immediately grabbed for the colorful bricks and Started building things. 

Toni had decided on building her dream house, Fangs and Sweet Pea decided on playing with the river expedition together, Jughead decided to use the McDonalds set because he was able to build his own restaurant, And Betty brought her Lego racers to play with.

A little while after they started playing Toni's mom told them that she wanted to take their picture and Jughead shook his head and tried to get up to walk away but Betty grabbed his arm lightly making him stop his motions.

"Please, take a picture for me" She begged with puppy dog eyes. The same eyes that Jughead could never say no to no matter how hard he tried meaning that he did give in and took the picture with a bit of a frown but you could still tell he was happy.

............................

Present:

"I don't quite remember the details but that's about how it went" The pink haired girl said finishing her story of the day.

"I can see that Jug took pictures of you whenever he got the chance no matter the circumstance" Fp said handing her a photo and she turned a little red looking at the photo. "Yeah, sorry i forgot to take the more intimate ones out" the picture was the one of her the night they were crowned king and queen, one of the same photos she cried over a couple years ago. 

"He took a lot of pictures of you" He said going through a stack of random pictures of her that he had taken the first year they were dating. "He would go through and take pictures and write the meaning of the picture on the back and every couple of months he would have us through all of them" She explained grabbing some more pictures.

"Just because she's beautiful" He read aloud and she sighed lightly and looked at the picture "That was from our trip to Sweden" smiling she looked at the back of some of the other cards and saw that most of them had reasoning's like first card. "Ok, what about this one" Fp asked holding up a picture.

..............................................

8 years ago:

Betty and Jug are 19

Betty was sitting on the counter of her and Jugs new apartment and she was grinning from ear to ear. Last night they had finished moving into their loft that was above the serpent hangout and Betty had been the happiest she had ever been. She moved into a loft with the person she loved the most and even though they had been living together before they shared a three bedroom apartment with Sweet Pea and Fangs.

They had this place all to themselves and they both loved talking about how they didn't have to deal with Sweet Pea and the girls he would go out with for two-three weeks at a time then move on. They also liked that they wouldn't have to hear Fangs playing video games at three in the morning even if it was amusing to hear him get all excited and happy when he won something, but it was tiring since they weren't able to sleep with him being decently loud in living room no matter how quite he tried to be. 

Jughead was cooking them breakfast and they were in a blissful bubble where they didn't care about what was going on outside of the apartment. So while he was letting the waffles cook in the waffle maker he grabbed his camera and snapped a couple photos of Betty sitting on the counter before she started protesting and put her hands on her face.

"Come on" He whined "I wanna see your face" He said snapping a photo.

"No, i look like a mess" she was shaking her head as she heard him place his camera down and felt his hands on her knees as he pushed her legs apart so he could stand between them. 

He reached up and pulled her hands off of her face and the smile on his face made her happy. "You look amazing" He whispered putting his arms around her waist "I'm wearing one of your t-shirts and half my hair is up in a messed up bun while the rest is sorta wavy and messy" She complained. "I think that you have never looked better" he said and she could tell he was being truthful from the tone of his voice.

A goofy grin took over her face as she blushed "I think you're a little bias" Jughead grabbed her hands in his and put his forehead against hers.

"I think that not only do you look beautiful but you are also the most caring and loving person i have ever met" Betty shook her head at his words "You're lying" She said dropping her head to lay on his shoulder.

"I am most definitely not lying" he felt her shake her head in protest and he sighed "You're doing it again" He spoke softly "I'm sorry" she mumbled against his chest. 

"You have nothing to be sorry about" she lifted her head from his shoulder and gave him a gentle kiss "I love you" She whispered as she pulled away "I love you too" he said endearingly.

"You have to stop being so hard on yourself about how you look" She sighed as he finished talking "I know" she spoke "Just because your sister used to say things about your body doesn't mean that the things she said were true, you know that right" She nodded her head and he moved his hands to her hips.

He rubbed his thumb against her hip bone and gave her a kiss "You really are beautiful" he mumbled against her lips and she giggled before pulling him back for another kiss.

.............................................................

Present:

"Jug always used to talk about how pretty you were" Fp said and she laughed "He would also look at you like you were crazy if you ever made a comment about how you felt like your outfit didn't look nice and he would instantly disagree with you saying you were absolutely gorgeous."

Betty laughed at Fp's comment and looked at the photo for a moment before responding.

"Yeah he would" She agreed "Okay" Fp said holding a photo up "What about this one" He said and Betty instantly grabbed the photo from him and put it on her desk away from the rest. "Not that one" Fp looked confused as to why she was trying to hide that one since it was just a photo of her at one of the cabins the serpents owned he couldn't quite remember where that specific cabin was located though.

He decided to brush it off and grab a different photo "What about this one then" he asked and she nodded as she began her story.

.........................

10 years ago:

Betty and Jughead are 17

Betty stood in her bedroom looking at herself in the mirror as she fixed the top of her dress. She had just finished getting ready for a big ball Cheryl's family was throwing and was waiting for Jughead.

She was wearing a black dress tulle dress that had a halter top and deep plunge in the front and showed some side boob. The bottom was very full which had a ballgown feel to it and the dress was backless. The black of the dress went well with her hair the left side of her hair being black and the right being green. 

She was fixing her lipstick when she heard her door open and turned to see her mom.

"You look beautiful" Alice said looking at her daughter and Betty's smile grew "Thank you" Alice smiled and gave Betty a hug. "You're growing up to fast" she said pulling away from the hug "Do you think it's too much" Betty asked playing with her necklace "It's a party being thrown by the the Blossom's, to celebrate Jason's new business deal with a major fashion house, i don't think anything would be too much" Alice said with a tilt of her head.

"Jughead is here" Betty heard her dad say as he walked into her room.

Betty's parents went downstairs before her and she could hear them talking to Jughead as she made her way down the stairs. Once they heard her coming downstairs the chatter had quieted down and all of them turned to look at her.

She lightly giggled at Jughead's current state since he was standing there staring at her with a gigantic smile as he looked her up and down.

She couldn't help but grin at seeing him in his all black suit that matched her dress perfectly.

Once she reached the end of her stairs he pulled her into a tight hug and she hugged him back just as tightly.

"I missed you" he whispered softly against her ear "I missed you too" she whispered. He pulled back from the hug and held his hand out for her "Ready to go?" He asked and she nodded as she grabbed his had.

"Bye mom and dad" She said before walking out the door and down to the car Cheryl had ordered for the two. When Betty tried to fight her on it she said that they were going to let her spoil them and get them a driver, Betty not wanting to fight about it agreed.

Jughead got in after her and as soon as the door was closed he grabbed her face in his hands and gave her a kiss.

"You are so fucking beautiful Betts" he breathed against her lips and she smiled before nudging his nose with hers.

"You look quite hot tonight yourself" She responded before kissing him a little more heatedly this time.

When they pulled back he looked down at her dress "I love this dress" He said. 

"Wait until you see what's under it" She said biting her lip.

Once they got to the party Cheryl had whisked them away to the photo area and made them take pictures even though Jughead had no desire to.

After they finished their mini photo session Betty went to look at the pictures on the photographers computer and she smiled at the photos. "They look amazing" she said squeezing her boyfriends hand "Don't you agree" She asked looking up at him.

"I think you look amazing" He said and she lightly hit his arm and shook her head at him.

.......................

Present:

Betty rubbed her finger over the photo before as she finished talking.

She had told Fp most of the story but decided to keep the conversation that happened between them in the car out of it.

She told him a couple more stories and they sat there for a couple more hours before his phone started to ring and he was needed for something.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked and she nodded "Yes we have dinner with Jellybean" She said and her smile grew as he grinned at her words.

"Now go" She said lightly pushing him out the door "You're needed by Fangs and he doesn't like to be kept waiting" He laughed at her and said his goodbyes.

Betty closed her front door and sighed before walking to her kitchen looking at the time she decided she should make dinner.

'It is 7:38" She thought as she decided to start cooking.

...........................

Once Betty finished eating she went up to her office to do some work and when she went to open her laptop she saw the photo of her and Jughead from earlier.

The one she had ripped from his hands and slightly freaked out about.

The photo it's self wasn't bad.

It was just Betty sitting on the balcony of one of the serpents cabins.

It was what the back of the photo said that she wanted to hide.

She flipped it over and ran her fingers over the words. 

Future Mrs. Jones

That day nobody knew about.

Nobody but her and Jughead.

She put the picture in the false bottom of one of the drawers attached to her desk so that no one would find it.

She didn't want people knowing that not only were her and Jughead dating when he left but they were engaged. Of course they were planning on waiting a couple years before getting married so that they wouldn't be so young. That was part of the reason they didn't tell people.

She went to her closet and opened the secret safe and pulled out the velvet ring box. 

She sat on the floor and opened it admiring the ring had made her so happy years ago but now just brings bad feelings. 

She sighs before putting the box back into the safe and locking it up and going back to her desk to do some work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I once again stayed up till 2:30 am to finish writing this and then when through and quickly proofread it once i woke up so i could post it. I originally had a different idea for this chapter and what Fp and Betty were going to talk about. I know that this chapter doesn't really give to many answers and that it seems a little random. I can assure you that all of these have reasons for being mentioned and we will be back to the regular story line next chapter. I wanted to make this chapter longer but i have some personal stuff going on and have been tired lately and with re-writing half the chapter at this rate you probably wouldn't be getting this chapter for another 2-3 weeks. So thank you for being patient i hope to have the next chapter out soon. I appreciate you all and hope that you have a great week.  
Also anyone who is not enjoying this week because of valentines day, I'm here to tell you that even if you are alone or you feel left out because your friends have valentines, That you are loved and appreciated. And to all my LGBTQ+ friends, I your local lesbian is here to tell you that your accepted and loved.  
Have a great week everyone. (Also, sorry that note was so long.)


	6. "Jughead Jones is alive

Betty was sitting and picking at her food slightly and not paying attention to what was going on at the table. She was at the weekly Saturday brunch she has with Gramp, Fp, Toni, Fangs, Cheryl, and Sweet Pea. 

Instead of talking and joking with everyone she was thinking about what might happen now that Jughead is back. When she had decided that he had to come back she didn't think about the fact that he might try to get the serpents back. She sat there zoning everyone out and letting her thoughts take over.

'What if Jughead wants to reclaim his title as serpent king.'

'What if he tries to challenge my title as queen.'

'What if he called for a vote and whoever won got to be leader.'

'If it came to a vote would the serpents side with him.'

'What would i do if they did.'

'My friends and family are here if they vote me out i would have no one.'

'Should i fight back if they vote me out'

'It is his family's gang that goes back decades'

'So i don't really have a place to fight back'

'Who could i call'

'It would have to be someone that would be willing to let me stay with them'

'I could call Reggie.'

'He would most likely let me stay with him.'

'Okay so if the serpents vote me out and i lose all my friends and family, I will call Reggie and make sure he's okay with me staying with him. Then i'm going to get on a plane and go to Europe. I can help Reggie with business and get back up on my feet. I could also call Sabrina and Josie, They are always there for me and would most likely let me stay with them. But i don't want to intrude on them since they are getting married in a couple of months.'

'Alright so i will call Reggie first but my plan B will be to call Sabrina and Josie'

Betty gave a little nod of her head after finalizing her backup plans and when she looked up she saw everyone looking at her. Including Jughead who was now standing at the end of the table.

"Well look who decided to rejoin us" Toni spoke with a laugh and Betty sighed.

"How long did i zone out" She asked "About fifteen minutes" Fp replied.

"Does that happen often" Jughead asked more concerned than curious after recalling how she did the same thing when the two of them and Fp were talking.

"Yeah" Cheryl replied before going back to her food.

"Typically i zone out when i overthink things" Betty explained and Jughead nodded.

"What brings you down here" Gramp asked and Jughead shifted his attention towards him.

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck before turning back to Betty. 

"I was wondering if we could talk for a second" 

"Umm... Yeah" She said sounding a little unsure. She climbed out of her chair and he followed her over to a hallway that had three doors. She unlocked the door on the right and he followed her inside and closed the door behind him. After a glance he could tell it was an office and from the photos on the wall he could tell it was her office. 

"What did you want to talk about" She asked leaning against the desk. 

"Do you think you could give me Jellybeans phone number. I'd like to see her sometime." He finished and Betty could tell he was a little nervous. "I'll text her and make sure that she's okay with me giving you her number." Jughead went to leave muttering a thank you and turning for the door.

"Hey Jughead," Betty said catching his attention and he turned around to see her chewing on her bottom lip. "You didn't hear it from me but, Jellybean has dinner with your dad and I every Thurday and we normally go to the wyrm after. She's really mad with you but I think she might be willing to talk to you." Jughead sighed and nodded his head her words.

"Thank you, Betty." She went to respond but he spoke again "I really appreciate it." he said softly.

"It's no problem." Betty replied with a small smile and Jughead left.

Betty let a deep breath out and turned to place her hands palm side down on the desk. She knew that seeing Jughead would be hard and she expected it to get better but she still can't be around him without wondering what would have happened if he hadn't left. 

She recalled the night she told Jellybean that Jughead was still alive. She remembered the tears and the yelling. The look of hatred and sadness in Jellybeans eyes.

It hurt Betty to see Jellybean like that since she was like a sister but, it also hurt when Jellybean had stopped crying and saw the tears in Betty's eyes and held her while she cried. 

Pushing the memories aside Betty picked up her phone and called Jellybean.

..................................................

"She refuses to talk to him, she doesn't want me to give him her phone number, and i don't know how to tell him," Betty exclaims chopping up veggies to go along with dinner "I tried to talk to her but she is pissed off with him and I don't blame her."

"Neither do I," Fp sighs while closing the oven and turning to face her. "I think she's gonna need some more time and he's just going to have to accept that."

"He's been without family for years." She sighed, "Well, he did that to himself." Fp spoke bitterly and Betty saw the broken look on his face. 

She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug and only seconds later did she feel the tears against her shoulder. They stood there for a couple minute until his tears subsided and he pulled back wiping his face. "I'm sorry he left," Betty said somberly and Fp shook his head "You have nothing to apologize for," He said sternly.

"He left because of me, so it is my fault," she whispered "No it's not and i'm not gonna let you take blame for his mistakes," Fp said walking back over to the oven. "Okay, but-" She was cut off by the door opening and the sound of laughter. "The hoard has arrived" She said instead of continuing the previous conversation. 

Fangs, Sweet Pea, Cheryl, and Toni walked into the kitchen as the two finished cooking and neither of them mentioned what had happened minutes earlier.

"So how do you think Jughead and Veronica got together," Cheryl asked after they finished dinner and were drinking wine on Betty's patio. "I have no idea," Betty said before taking a sip from her glass.

......................................

5 years ago

Veronica sat in her dads office tapping her foot on the wood floor. He had called her and said that he needed to talk to her about something and now she sat waiting for him to talk. She had been sitting there for a solid two minutes and he hasn't said anything other than a hello.

"So... what did you want to talk about" she asked and he sat up straighter but still not saying anything.

"Jughead Jones is alive" he spoke slowly and Veronica let out a loud gasp at her fathers words.

"What do you mean he's alive" She questioned still not wrapping her head around what he said.

"I mean that two years ago my associates and i faked his death and he has been helping me out with business for quite awhile."

Veronica just sat there staring at her father while trying to figure out what to say.

"Why" She said finally speaking "Why would he fake his death and do business for you" She continued. "That's non of your business" Her father said flattening down his suit jacket of imaginary wrinkles. 

"But.." He started "I need you to help him with business deals" before Veronica could say anything he started talking again. "I also want you to try and get his mind of Betty."

"Why do you need him to get his mind off Betty" She questioned. "Because all he seems to do is business and then mope around about not being able to see Betty" He answered.

"Well he's getting stuff done why does it matter that the rest of the time he's reminiscing about his relationship" Hiram sighed before responding "You and mister Andrews broke up" He said as more of a statement than a question.

"How do you know that" She asked getting defensive. "I like to keep tabs on you, so i can make sure you don't get into any trouble." 

"What does Archie and i breaking up have to do with anything" She spoke through gritted teeth She was angry and Hiram could tell.

"I feel as if though you and Jughead could be good for each other" Veronica furrowed her eyebrows at him "Good for each other how" Her voice questioning.

"I think you should date" Veronica instantly was confused at her fathers insinuation.

"Why?" She questioned for the second time that day. "My associates have found out about Jughead's past with the serpents and they don't trust him as much," he replied but continued when his daughter raised her eyebrows at him. "As much as i hate to admit it Jughead is the best deal maker i have. If my associates don't trust him neither will new business partners so i need them to know he is trustworthy. If my daughter is dating him then they know how much i trust him if i approve of your relationship and that may help him gain their trust."

..............................

3 months later she was getting on a jet to meet Jughead in London.

Once she finalized the deal with her dad she had two weeks to pack up and leave. She had started packing already though and left within one week.

Betty and her had gotten into a big fight three weeks before she decided to leave. That was part of the reason that she decided to leave. She just couldn't deal with Betty anymore and since she was the reason Veronica was still New York. She decided that since they were no longer friends anymore she had no reason to stay.

So she left everything behind in New York and went to start a life somewhere else.

The only problem with that was that she was supposed to be faking a relationship with Jughead for business dealings. They were faking it just fine until they got into an actual relationship and she started to fall in love and Jughead never really saw her as anything more than a friend. 

But they were stuck together and he decided that since there was no way to get out of this life he might as well try to make things work with Veronica. His feelings always felt like one for a friend though and they never grew beyond that. 

There had been a little bit of time where he thought there might be something there but he always had Betty in the back of his mind. When Hiram suggested that he should propose to Veronica because he claimed that it could help with business. 

Jughead knew that he wasn't only suggesting marriage because it would help business out. He knew that he was suggesting that they should get engaged and married because Veronica wanted more from the relationship. So he shrugged off the suggestion until Veronica herself brought it up. 

Veronica constantly brought up getting engaged until finally he asked and when they got home that night he made it clear their engagement was strictly for business purposes. Veronica assured him that she knew that and he had hoped she meant what she said.

.........................

"Are you kidding me Jughead." Veronica screamed at the raven haired man in front of her. "Are you really getting mad about this," He sighed running his hand through his hair as she glared at him. 

"Yes, I'm mad that you talked to Betty this morning and didn't tell me," Veronica said waving her arms around.

"I don't see the big deal," Jughead shrugged and she looked at him like he was crazy. "You lied to me," she yelled. 

"When did I lie to you?" he sighed "When i asked what you did this morning you said you stopped at the wyrm and got breakfast an-" "Which I did stop and get breakfast," he cut in.

"But you left out the part where you talked to Betty privately in the back," She yelled and he shook his head at her words. "I asked Betty if i could have Jellybeans phone number."

"Why didn't you tell me that this morning?" Veronica asked and he just shrugged. 

"I didn't think it was a big deal," He sighed and Veronica huffed and sat down on the couch turning on a movie and effectively ignoring him.

"Are you just not talking to me?" Jughead questioned and when she didn't respond he sat down at the kitchen table. After a while when it seemed like she wasn't going to talk to him, he decided to give her some space and go to the wyrm.

..................................

Betty had walked into the wyrm with the intention to grab a couple bottles of wine but when she saw Jughead nursing a glass of what she assumed was whisky.

She knew Fangs, Cheryl, Toni, and Sweet Pea were waiting for her to get back since they ran out of wine but she thought they could wait a couple more minutes.

"Hi" She said stumbling a little bit as she walked up to him. "Hi" He chuckled at when he saw she was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a shirt that said 'fuck off' in rhinestones. 

"What can i get you Betty" Hog Eye said walking up to them and Betty turned her attention to him. "Can i have four bottles of red please" She asked grinning at him and he raised his eyebrows. 

"Let me guess you and family had dinner then Fp left and the rest of you drank wine on the balcony and then you ran out." Hog Eye said grabbing a box of wine from behind the barplacing it in front of her and Betty giggled "You know me so well." she sighed happily.

"Ahh you're wine drunk" Jughead said and Betty's attention returned to him "Yep" she nodded happily and he laughed.

"I have something to tell you and I think the only reason I'm telling you is because I'm drunk and so I have a little more courage than sober me," She paused and he tilted his head before she continued "Jellybean asked me to not give you her phone number and she doesn't want to see you yet. She's still really mad and she's not ready to talk." 

Jughead sighed at her words "I'm sorry, Jughead" He heard Betty whisper and he shook his head "You have nothing to be sorry for," He said before turning his head to the box of wine "Do you need help getting that back?"

"I might need a little help" She said squinting at the box and he chuckled grabbing it from the counter and throwing some bills on the counter for his drink. Betty shook her head at him "No, It's on me," She said with a wave of her hand "Hog Eye his drinks on me" She yelled down the bar and he nodded.

"You don't have to" Jughead said trying to place the bills back on the bar after she shoved them in his hand. "Just say thank you and accept the fact that I'm not gonna let you pay" She said pointing her finger at him and he nodded with a small laugh.

They walked to her house and other than the few stumbles she had they walked in a comfortable silence until they reached her house. She grabbed the box form him and gave her thanks for his help.

"Goodbye Jughead" She smiled. 

"Goodnight Betty" He spoke softly and after she went inside he turned around walking back to his apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while but i'm hoping to post more regularly and i hope you all are enjoying the story.


	7. "I'm glad she did,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW/ Death and Hospitals.  
These two topics will be mentioned in this chapter so please read cautiously and take care of yourself please. There is a warning before the content that involves these two topics and if anybody has any suggestions on how to do warnings better if needed please let me know and you can do so in the comments or you could message me if you are more comfortable that way.

"OH MY GOD" Betty heard Toni yell after her front door slammed and she walked out of her kitchen to see Toni standing by her front door looking winded. "What is going on?" Betty asked slightly confused as to why Toni was standing there with a grin on her face and yelling.

"Are you making cookies?" Asked walking into the kitchen and then answered her own question by opening the oven with a exited 'yes' and sniff. Betty softly laughed at the childlike grin on her friends face before re-asking her question.

"You will never guess what happened," Her friend gushed sitting at the kitchen island. "So I was going on my morning jog, and I saw a couple of people standing by the building that Veronica and Jughead's are staying in. I had my headphones in so I had taken them out and walked over to see what was happening. Instantly I heard Veronica yelling and so i was obviously intrigued," Betty slightly laughed and replied with a sarcastic "Obviously."

Toni just waved her hand at her and continued "Anyways, I walked over and saw Veronica and Jughead yelling at each other and she had a suitcase. After a while of yelling and her basically saying that he didn't love her and she was done their relationship and then," She paused dramatically throwing her hands up. 

" SHE THREW HER RING AT HIM" She yelled and Betty raised her eyebrows taking a sip of her coffee and waited for Toni to continue. "Then, She yelled 'We're done' after that she grabbed her suitcase and started walking away." 

Betty looked at her surprised before speaking "Where did Veronica go?" Toni had been expecting a couple different reactions but not that. "I don't know, I Immediately came over here," She shrugged.

"I'm going to call Emily because she is currently working at the wyrm so i'll see if she showed up there," Betty said walking into the living room as Toni scrolled through her phone. 

She walked back into the kitchen a minute later and Toni looked at her raising her eyebrows. "She's at the wyrm and going on a rant about how Jughead still loves me and I ruined their relationship." She rubbed her temples still trying to process the past fifteen minutes.

"I'm scared that if i go to the wyrm and try to talk to her it will just anger her more," She sighed and Toni nodded. "The two of us never got along but, I could go talk to her." Betty gave her a smile but shook her head, "I should probably do it but if you're willing to go with me, I would really appreciate it." Toni smiled and nodded telling her she would be more than happy to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they walked into the wyrm Veronica was sitting at the bar with a suitcase beside her and talking about how her and Jughead's relationship wasn't real. Toni and Betty gave each other a look when she said that but didn't say anything yet.

"Hey Veronica," Betty said walking up to her. "Oh look the girl that my ex-fiance is in love with," She said her hands being thrown in the air. Betty sighed glancing at Toni and grabbed her suitcase suggesting they go to her house and talk.

Veronica agreed and followed the two girls to Betty's and when they got there Veronica and Toni sat at the dinning room table and after making coffee Betty joined them. 

"What happened?" Toni asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. "Jughead and I broke up," She said silently and Betty had to push away the slight happiness she felt.

"Do you mind if I ask why," She asked after collecting her thoughts about Jughead being single and shaming herself for having such thoughts. 

"He never stopped loving you," The bitter words shocked Betty and it took a minute before she could finally process what she said. "How about you and I go get you set up in a new apartment," Toni suggested to Veronica who only nodded. 

Toni hugged Betty on her way out and whispered that she would call her later, They said their final goodbyes and then Betty was left sitting by herself.

She sat there for a good half hour just taking in the words that Veronica had said with such, Disgust. It took another half hour of her thinking about the fact that Jughead was no longer engaged and according to Veronica sill in love with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Betty had spent the past two hours thinking about the fact that she definitely still loved Jughead and had run through four different scenarios that could happen.

1\. Betty keeps her feeling to herself and nobody has to know that she feels this way.

2\. She doesn't say anything to Jughead and he finds someone else and then she gets a little emotionaly hurt but is ultimately left without to much damage.

3\. She talks to Jughead and he turns her down and then she'll have to deal with the aftermath of it for a couple months but will get over it eventually.

4\. She tells Jughead and he does still love her and then they figure things out from there.

That means there is a 25% change that if she talks to Jughead and tells him that she feels this way and he feels the same they could possibly be together.

She came to the conclusion that it was, Not worth it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She got ready and headed out to poison to meet up with Archie and hopefully get her mind off Jughead.

"There she is," She heard to the left of her as she walked into poison and instantly knew who it was. She walked up and gave him a hug ruffling his hair a little, "Hello, old friend." She teased and he laughed "You are the old one, old lady." She lightly hit his arm with the back of her hand and he grabbed her hand walking them over to their normal table.

"Do you think a old lady would get up there and dance," She said pointing to on of the poles on the main stage and he only laughed in return. "Why are you so giggly tonight?" She asked and he sat there for a moment before speaking. "I got the promotion." Betty grinned at him "So that means you'll be moving to downtown New York." He nodded and she gave him a hug until he complained he couldn't feel this ribs anymore, claiming she was squeezing to tight. 

"It'll be nice to have you around more," She said grinning at him, "You will be around more, right?" 

"Yes, I'll be around more." He laughed and they sat down and caught up and joked around for about two hours.

They were in the middle of a conversation when Archie's focus had shifted and Betty turned to look over her shoulder to see what he was looking at. 

Veronica. 

"Can we talk." She said looking at him not even paying attention to Betty. "Yeah, of course." He said standing up with a 'good bye' and 'I'll call you later' before she watched the pair walk out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She didn't stay at poison for to long after Archie left and when she got home she had to face the same feeling that she used to get all the time but it only happened occasionally now.

The feeling of loneliness that she felt when she walked in to the dark quiet house and she had to face the fact that she was all by herself.

She poured herself a cup of the iced tea she made earlier and grabbed a blanket making her way up the stairs and onto the second floor deck. She sat there for a while drinking her tea and looking at the stars.

She was starting to doze off until she heard a odd noise from the road and so she got up and looked over the railing. She saw Jughead stumbling around and so she hurried downstairs and threw some shoes on to go check on him.

"What are you doing?" She asked walking up to him and his step faltered from the sudden noise. "I was just looking for you," He slurred and she knew instantly that he had been drinking and she sighed.

"Why don't we get you inside" She said and he nodded trying to walk but tripping on himself and so she put his arm around her shoulders balancing him until they got inside.

Once they had got past the front door his step started to falter more and Betty knew he wouldn't be able to make it upstairs but she was also worried about him making it to the coach. After they had taken three steps he had slipped a little and she knew he wouldn't make it to the couch so she slowly lowered them to floor for him to sit for a couple minutes before attempting to get him to the couch.

She sat with her back against the wall and instead of him sitting as well he layed down placing his head in her lap and she sighed. "I'm sorry" he whispered and she shook her head looking down at him. "Stop," she whispered "You're drunk." She didn't even dare to mention Veronica not wanting to have that conversation while he's in this state. 

"Veronica left me," He was looking up at her and she had to remind herself that he was drunk and this was just the alcohol. "I know" She said nodding and hoping he would drop the topic.

"I'm glad she did," He said, "I never really wanted to be with her, it was just business." Betty was curious as to why Veronica said their relationship wasn't real and now he was saying it was just business. "I never stopped loving you. In fact I think when I left and was away from you for so long I fell more in love because I realized that you brought me so much happiness and couldn't find anything that gave me the same amount of happiness as you do." 

Betty didn't know how to respond to him and was fight tears at that moment and she knew she couldn't sit there anymore and listen to him talk like this. "Could you try and stand up for me," She asked and he nodded moving to stand up.

He was little wobbly but she navigated him to the couch and gave him blanket before heading over to the kitchen to grab him some water. She had gotten him settled in and he was watching a movie and drinking his water while eating some crackers she had given to him. She said goodnight and headed up to her room to get ready for the night.

Once she had changed and taken off her makeup she got in bed and buried herself under the covers. She could hear his movie and just listened to noise for a moment before the tears finally started to fall and she fell asleep thinking about how much she missed him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning she had walked downstairs and he was asleep on the couch and Betty thought about what he had said last night and then shook her head hoping the thoughts would go away. 

She had been making pancakes while a pot of coffee was brewing when Jughead walked into kitchen rubbing his head. "Good morning," He said catching her attention and when she saw the current state he was in she grabbed him some Advil from the cabinet saying her own 'good morning.'

"I'm currently finishing the pancakes but there's hash browns over there and a fresh pot of coffee," She said pointing to the two items. "Plates are in there along with the mugs." This time she was pointing to the right of her and Jughead maneuvered are the kitchen without disrupting her.

Soon they were sitting at her kitchen table eating and laughing kind of forgetting the past seven years and talking and joking like old friends. Betty was currently laughing at a joke he had made when there was a knock at her door and she got up to answer it.

Gramp was standing there with a basket of strawberries in his hand a smile on his face. "I picked these this morning and thought we could eat some and then make some shortcake later." He said with a hopeful look and she nodded.

"Of course," She said and when he went to walk in she stopped him and he gave her a questioning look. She gave him a quick rundown of what happened last night and this morning so he was aware of the fact that yes, Jughead was there no, They were not back together.

Jughead was surprised to see him but when Gramp went to give him a hug he stood up giving him a hug and expressing how much he missed the older man. They all were sat down at the table Gramp having made himself a plate and all of them eating the freshly picked strawberries and having a good time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TW/ Death and Hospitals  
These two topics will be mentioned in the rest of the chapter. 

Later after the two had left Betty was in her office looking over some papers when her phone rang and Polly's name popped up on the screen. The two barely talked due to the fact that Polly didn't like the direction in which Betty took her life. She answered the phone slightly confused as to why she was calling her.

"Hel-" Polly cut her off before she could finish her greeting.

"Mom is in the emergency room again and they don't think she's going to make it this time." Betty's breath hitched at her sisters words. "What hospital is she in i'll be there right away" The words rushing out of her mouth as she put her papers away and went to get her car keys.

"No." Polly said causing her to stop in her tracks, "I only called to inform you, I get to choose who is on mom's list to see her and you won't be on it." 

"Polly please," She pleaded, "You didn't let me see her last time and we almost lost her. If they don't think she is going to make it please come and let me see her."

"Betty, i don't want you here." Her sister sighed, "Mom and you can have your daily phone calls and pretend like everything is fine and you don't rule a gang but you do. I don't want anything to do with that and if you show up here I will call security and they'll believe me over the girl with a gang symbol on her jacket."

"Will you at least let me talk to her on the phone?" She asked fighting tears. "If she wakes up i'll think about it." Polly hung up after that and Betty sat on the floor crying at both her mom in the hospital and Polly's words about her.

It wasn't until an hour later that she finally pealed herself off the floor and went to her bedroom changing in to a sweatshirt and sweatpants and climbing in bed. She checked her phone very time it went off but hoping it was her sister but, it never was and she ignored everyone for the rest of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She called Toni the next morning telling her she was taking the day to herself and asking to be left alone. She could her the concern in her friends voice at the weakness of her own but didn't give any answers and she didn't push.

It was Jughead who ended up showing up to her house that night and he concern crossed his face as soon as he saw her. After explaining that he came to see if she wanted to watch a movie because he was getting lonely and she was the only one who was talking to him he asked what was wrong. She just shrugged and walked back upstairs to her room and vaguely heard the front door close and lock but, she did notice the footsteps following closely behind.

"Betty whats wrong?" He asked softly as climbed back in bed and she didn't answer and he sat on the edge of the bed until she started to cry and then he moved and held her in his arms as she cried on his chest.

After her tears had calmed down she had explained the past three years of her mother being in and out of the hospital and the first two Betty had went every time she was admitted up until Polly had convinced her mom to sign papers that gave Polly the power to make her medical decisions if she was unable to do so. Her mom was unaware of what she was signing and didn't question it since the medicine the hospital gave her made her out of it. Betty had previously been appointed this job but Polly being Polly didn't like that and the fact that she was a lawyer made it easy for her to make sure the change was made without anybody questioning it.

She had fallen asleep in his arms and he had fallen asleep not soon after due to the fact that they had been talking, (Betty crying multiple times.) Until four am and he didn't have the energy to get and he didn't want to risk waking her. They stayed like that all night. In each others arms sleeping better than they had in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was a bit of a roller coaster. I rewrote this chapter three times and i'm happy with how it turned out and i hope you all are as well. Every comment and kudos is appreciated and I tend to forget to say that but i mean it and i appreciate all my readers.


	8. "Did Sweet Pea help you?"

TW/ Self Harm and Drug Overdose

Betty woke up slightly confused as to who's arms were around her and then her memories of last night came back and breath caught in her throat realizing who it was. She slowly looked up to see Jughead slowly opening his eyes and muttering a "morning." "Good morning" She spoke still processing the fact that he was in her bed and she was in his arms. 

She sat up and moved backwards to put some distance between the two and she cleared her throat leaning against the headboard. "You should probably leave." She whispered and he nodded standing up and putting his shoes back on.

"Let me know if you need anything," She nodded at his words and he continued. "If you want to talk about your mom or need to take your mind off things i'll be there." He said walking out and she sighed and waited to hear the front door to close before picking up her phone and checking her missed texts.

One text in particular stuck out to her and she immediately sat up calling Reggie as she made her way to her office. 

"Hey B." She heard him yawn and felt bad about possibly waking him but that was not her current concern. "You figured out where the money's going." She rushed out not even realizing she hadn't returned his hello. She was beginning to worry that Reggie was unable to track the money transfers and was starting to look into new leads but hopefully this would have enough to help figure out whats going on. She had given him the files a couple weeks ago and they hadn't talked about it since then, which also added to her worries.

"Yeah, Give me a sec to grab the file so I can make sure I have the information right." She heard him fumbling around a bit and she was tapping her foot nervously.

"Okay, The money was being transferred into a account for Gladys Jones and her drug business that now seems to be associated with Hiram's drug empire." He sighed before continuing, "It seems that Jughead and Veronica were helping make sure things ran smoothly and that the Ghoulies and Gladys were keeping up with the demand. It seems that Jughead handled the Ghoulies while Veronica dealt with Gladys." 

They talked about the dealings a little bit more and then she thanked Reggie for his help and asked him to send the files over to her before the two said their goodbyes.

She sat at her desk processing the new information and trying to decide how she should approach Jughead about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She got up and threw on a new pair of sweats and a cropped tank top on knowing it was warm outside. She was going to take a shower before going but didn't have the energy for that so she threw her up in a messy bun and put some sneakers on and getting ready to leave.

She was half way down the stairs when she heard a knock at the door and she sighed knowing she wasn't feeling up to a conversation. All she wanted was to go talk to Jughead about the things Reggie told her and then she could get back to focusing on her mom.

The only reason she was going to talk to Jughead even though she doesn't have the energy was because she knew it would be bothering her and she needed to get it out of the way so she can try to convince Polly to let her see her mom.

She opened to the front door to find Sweet Pea standing there looking pissed off and before she could say anything he barged in and she closed the door before turning to face him.

"What's up," She said and instantly regretted it due to the look on his face at her words. "What's up?" He said as if she would know why he was here.

"Why has Jones been seen leaving your house the past two mornings?" He asked and her head tilted at his words. "Why does it matter?" She asked back and he shook his head.

"I really thought that you wouldn't go back to him and that i might still have a chance." 

"You have had multiple chances to have a relationship with me but you always end up changing your mind last minute and then you go fuck a random girl and we act weird around each other for a week and then it all goes back to normal and the cycle continues." She yelled at him and he just stood there staying silent.

"I have tried to make a relationship work with you Sweet Pea and it's never good enough," She spoke after he stayed silent. "You didn't know how you felt about having a monogamous relationship and I was open to having a open relationship, and then you said you'd think about it and then the next day you decided you were not ready to be tied down, even though I was more than happy to have a open relationship you were being tied down apparently." She said throwing her arms in the air with frustration.

"I have tried to make this work and you always back out," She sighed and he looked down at the floor refusing to make eye contact. "I'm not sleeping with Jughead," He looked up at her but didn't say anything. "He was drunk the first night and I saw him outside and helped him out. Last night I was crying because my mom is back and the hospital and Polly refuses to let me see her. Now I need to go talk to Veronica so if you'll excuse me i'm leaving now." She turned around and walked to the front door Sweet Pea followed her out walking away without saying anything else. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Betty had knocked on Veronica's and was surprised to see Hermione open up the door. "Hi Hermione, Is Veronica here?" She asked but her question was answered as Veronica came over to the door. 

"Hi" She said quietly after seeing Betty. "Can we talk?" She asked forgoing a hello back.

"Yeah," She said letting her in and Hermione had excused herself saying she was going to go take a shower. Betty and Veronica had ended up at the kitchen table and neither of them said anything for a minute.

"Was your relationship with Jughead real?" Betty asked breaking the silence and she heard Veronica inhale before shrugging.

"It became real to me but I don't think it ever did for him." 

"What do you mean 'became'?" the pink haired girl questioned. 

"I mean we started dated to show a united front for my dads business and I started to develop feelings. He didn't." She stayed quiet for a minute and Betty sat waiting for her to continue. 

"I have a feeling you've figured out about some of what Jughead and I did as work for my dad," Betty nodded and she continued. "If i'm being honest I don't even know why Jughead faked his death and left you. What i do know is that the story he tells is only half of it and that you're the only person that's going to be able to get the truth out of him." Veronica sighed as she looked at the Betty and noted the broken look in her eyes. 

"I know that whatever happened caused him to leave and when I got involved I was told nothing. I was brought in so my dad could prove to his associates that Jughead was trust worthy. I still don't understand how that worked but it did and then I eventually took on some of the work load. After a year my dad and Gladys made a deal to merge their businesses and Jughead refused to talk to her, so I handled Gladys and her business dealings while he dealt with the Ghoulies. I know that he was trying to make a deal with my dad to come back here, but my dad was hesitant because Jughead knew a lot about his dealings. I was flying back here to mediate the deal. I was trying to distance myself from Jughead because I knew I felt things for him he didn't feel for me. I also knew that I didn't love him as much as I loved Archie."

Betty sat there in silence for a moment taking everything in and hoping that she could keep her thoughts at bay until after she talked to Jughead. She didn't want to think about the fact that Jughead had said that he was glad they were and Veronica didn't seem like she was invested anymore.

What she did want to think about was Jughead lied to her... again. She was really dreading having this conversation with him, but she knew she needed to talk about it with him.

"I have to go," Betty sighed and stood up. "Thank you for talking to me, I'll see you around." She said as Veronica ushered her out the door and they said their goodbyes. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Betty walked to the building Jughead was staying in and Veronica's words floated through her head as she kicked the rocks outside his building willing herself to go inside. 

"Betty?" She turned around to the questioning voice knowing exactly who would be standing there. "We need to talk." Her voice sounded a little angrier than she had been hoping but Jughead nodded and they went up to his apartment, neither of them speaking a word on the way up.

"What's up?" He asked leaning against the counter and she stared at him for a minute before finally getting the courage to say something.

"Why did you leave?" She questioned. "I already told you-" He started and she scoffed at his words before speaking. "I don't want some bullshit half ass story. I want to know why and you better tell me the fucking truth this time, and if you don't I have a whole line of people who are willing to go and find the information under any circumstance necessary. The only reason i'm not talking to them at the moment is because I wanted to give you the opportunity to tell me yourself."

"Okay." He muttered with a nod. "You might want to sit down though." He said pointing to the couch and the pair walked over sitting on opposite sides of the couch. Betty had kicked her shoes off and grabbed a blanket from the bucket by the window before sitting criss-crossed across from him.

"I didn't lie when I said the Ghoulies were making threats and that's why I left, but I didn't tell the full truth about the threats. I had been trying to figure out where all the jingle jangle was being made and I had taken Sweet Pea out to a warehouse that a old friend told me about. He said that the Ghoulies seemed to be guarding the warehouse a lot more than normal and it seemed that it was the main source of the jingle jangle. It wasn't just normal Jingle jangle either it was laced with something and was causing all the bad reactions and the deaths that were happening at a rapid speed. I went inside but Sweet Pea stayed outside and looked around back in their garage. While I was in there they had gotten photos of me in their drug lab and then threatened to turn me into and make it seem like I was running the operation. Malachi's brother was running the investigation on the jingle jangle operation and Malachi was feeding him false information about the serpents being involved." He stopped for a minute and Betty sighed. 

"What happened after that?" She asked when he still hadn't said anything and he refused to look at her. When he finally did he looked conflicted but continued.

"I had two options," He sighed. "I either take my chances and try to dismantle the drug operation they were running or I accept the deal Malachi offered me." "What deal?" Jughead didn't answer and she raised her eyebrows. "What fucking deal." Her voice slightly raised and he decided to rip the band aid off.

"His offer to not turn me in, as long as I help with his operation." Betty looked at him in surprise before muttering, "You didn't." But the look on his face confirmed that he did and she huffed. 

"Are you fucking kidding me," She yelled and he looked at her still not saying anything. "Why didn't you talk to me?" She asked softly the anger from moments ago gone and replaced by hurt. 

"I didn't want you involved." She shook her head and to his surprise let out a laugh. "What happened to us being partners and doing things together? What other things did you hide from me?" She snapped and he was starting to wonder if this and the stress of her mother being in the hospital was getting to her because she went for angry to sad within seconds.

"Why don't we wait to have this conversation until your mom is out of the hospital and you have a clear head." He spoke softly and instantly regretted it upon seeing the look on her face. "I'm fine and i'd appreciate it if you didn't mention my mom." She said bitterly and he nodded.

"Did Sweet Pea help you?" She suddenly asked and he nodded taking her face before glancing down at her hands that were firmly pressed against her knees so that she wouldn't dig her nails in. 

"He was with me while I helped the Ghoulies and he was there when I made the deal to leave because Hiram had joined the operation and was unhappy with how I was happy and i refused to sell i only helped run the inside operations. He started making threats against you and he finally said I had two options, either I help with pushing the merchandise which would have meant to kids Jellybeans age, or I leave and I help run his international dealings. I couldn't sell especially not to teens, and not after what happened to Jelly's best friend." 

Betty remembers finding Jb sitting on the fire escape of the old building balling her eyes out after finding out that her best friend Conner had taken Jingle Jangle and accidentally overdosed. She held her as she cried and was at one point sobbing so much she was gasping for breath. 

"I guess I can kinda see where you're coming from." She muttered pulling herself from her memories and he just sat there waiting for any questions. Suddenly she pulled a face and asked sharply, "Did Sweet Pea know about you faking your death?" 

"Yes," He whispered and played with the rings on his finger before continuing, "He helped."

With those words Betty stood abruptly and he stood up as well standing in front of the frantic woman. "Thank you for talking to me." She said putting the blanket away and moving to put her shoes on. "I'm going to have some more questions but I need to talk to Sweet Pea right now." She went for the door and muttered a goodbye before closing it and Jughead stood for a moment replaying what just happened before moving to lock the door and then sitting down and thinking about what happened... again.

.................................................

"You fucking lying son of a bitch." Betty yelled storming into Sweet Peas house and she walked into the living room to find him watching a movie but he looked startled. Betty assumed it had to do with how she entered the house and her thoughts were confirmed when he mutter a 'what the fuck.'

"You knew he was alive." She said her voice shaking and on the verge of tears as he paused the movie and stood to face her. "You knew and kept it from me." She yelled.

"I couldn't leave my bed for weeks and it took a whole week for me to get the courage to shower and even then I had to have help to get undressed because I didn't fucking have the energy. I ripped my hands to shreds and I wasn't eating I was either sleeping or screaming or crying. I lost the only person who has ever truly made me feel safe and I couldn't mentally accept that for months. I had nightmares every night I was able to fall asleep for almost a year, because I was also dealing with insomnia due to my depression. You could have told me he was alive and it wouldn't have changed everything but it would have helped me get to a better place sooner knowing he was okay. You held me when I cried and my body was aching for him and you fucking knew he was okay and alive. I trusted you and you've been lying to me for years. How could hold me, clean my scars, rubbed my back as i cried, wiped my tears, kiss me, fuck me, and then say you want a relationship with me knowing that you helped him fake his death. How could you do those things and not feel horrible on about yourself." 

Sweet Pea stood there staring at her and taking in her words before he responded. "I was being selfish," He muttered. "I wanted you and Jughead wasn't here and I developed feelings for you. I made a promise not to tell you so I didn't and I don't regret that decision."

"How can you stand here and justify this to me." She asked her voice shaking and he sighed rubbing a hand over his face. "Because I love you." He said and she shook her head at him with a angry laugh.

"No you don't." She stated, "If you did you wouldn't have kept this a secret from me for seven fucking years." She spat out and tears started welling I her eyes.

"I need some time from you, from everything. When my mom's out of the hospital i'm going to leave for a couple weeks. Until then I don't want to see you unless I reach out for serpent business. I'd appreciate it if you tried to keep a distance until then." He nodded and she left without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely happy with this chapter due to the fact that i was having trouble getting it started. I'm hoping that it doesn't read oddly and if it does I apologize for that. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I appreciate every kudos and comments. I would also like to add that I am terrible at responding to thing so don't take it personally if i don't respond. I try to but it can be difficult for me sometimes mainly because i'm a over thinker, but i wanted to let you all know that i do appreciate your comments.


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